Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was booed four times by the sparse home crowd during the third quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, Watson’s first action in Cleveland in 22 months.
There was a smattering of boos for Watson ahead of the first snap of the third quarter after the public address announcer said Watson was entering the game. There was another round of boos after Watson’s first pass into traffic fell incomplete.
He was booed again after the Browns went three-and-out on his second series, and then after he threw a high pass intended for Gage Larvadain, which Buffalo safety Te’Cory Couch intercepted.
“It has nothing to do about the performance. It’s a little bit more personal than that. So I think that’s a disrespectful thing,” Watson said after the game. “I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And yeah, just move on.”
Watson is competing with Shedeur Sanders for the starting job. Watson and Sanders have alternated days operating the No. 1 offense since the spring, and Sanders started Saturday’s game after Watson started last weekend’s preseason opener in Chicago.
“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt,” Watson added.
The quarterback battle in Cleveland is still the story to watch
Zac Jackson
Asked earlier this week if he thought he might hear some boos, Watson said, “I don’t care.”
“Only time I feel that energy is when I’m in the stadium, or it’s on social media. When I’m in public, nobody says anything,” Watson said Saturday. “I feel like I get more love on road games than I do in home games.”
After a lightning delay lasted more than an hour just two minutes into the game, another wave of rain hit the stadium at halftime. There probably weren’t more than a few thousand fans seated when Watson entered the huddle and was booed for the first time.
The boos were louder early in the fourth quarter after Watson had a fourth-down pass deflected as he released the ball, and the pass fell well short of intended receiver Luke Floriea.
Watson finished 5-of-12 for 35 yards with an interception in four series. His quarterback rating was 14.6.
“I don’t regret anything in my life. I think the Lord put me through situations for a reason. I don’t regret anything at all,” Watson said. “I had different thoughts on how it was going to be, but it is what it is. Sometimes the tables turn, and I’m patient enough because I’m a child of God to wait for that time to change. So I’m not tripping on it.”
Last week, the Browns scored on two of Watson’s six series in the first half, then did not score in the second half. On Saturday, Sanders capped a touchdown drive with an 8-yard pass to Floriea on the Browns’ first series but later threw behind tight end Jermaine Terry in Buffalo territory as the pass was intercepted.
Sanders was 8-for-8 before the interception, including a fourth-down conversion and two third-down conversions. He finished 9-of-11 for 74 yards.
On the team’s official radio pregame show that aired Saturday morning, Browns coach Todd Monken said he does not “anticipate the quarterback decision going past early next week.”
Most of Cleveland’s starters — including the entire offensive line — did not suit up for Saturday’s game.