Deshaun Watson attempts to mend fences, but doesn't apologize to Browns fan base that he chastised for booing him: 'I understand the frustration'

Deshaun Watson was named the starting back for the Cleveland Browns on Monday.

Hours after the news went public, Watson attempted to mend fences with the fan base that he chastised two days prior for booing him during a preseason game. Watson addressed his previous comments in a statement to reporters Monday afternoon.

He started by telling them that he expected a response other than boos due the time he'd put in with the Browns and the city of Cleveland since he last played an NFL snap with the team in 2024.

"First off, I want to address the comments from Saturday after the game," Watson said. "I think just, human nature, just myself being very emotional, putting a lot of time these last two years to get back and spend time in this facility in the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community.

"I thought I was going to get a little different response. My emotions got the best of me. My comments wasn't intending to go at any of the fans around in the city. Because there have been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me."

Watson did not apologize.

He did acknowledge the "frustration" surrounding his controversial and so-far disastrous tenure with a Browns franchise that traded for him in 2022, then made him the NFL's highest-paid player with a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract. The Browns did this in spite off the two dozen women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct, allegations that ultimately ended his tenure with the Houston Texans.

Watson didn't acknowledge those allegations Monday. He did acknowledge that "things haven't been going the right direction" since he joined the Browns, a tenure that's been marred by injuries and poor play in addition to the shadow of the allegations that continues to hang over him.

#Browns Deshaun Watson apologizes for his postgame remarks, saying he’s human. Wants to win for the fans: pic.twitter.com/LXbIvkPgdO

"I know the frustration," Watson continued. "This organization has put a lot of investment in coming to get me in '22. And things haven't been going the right direction that we thought it was. A lot of injuries. A lot of time off and not playing the best football, my foot forward.

"Again, I understand the frustration. I understand everything that kind of goes into that. And moving forward, I just want to focus on football, making sure that I'm putting the best product out there, having the best ability."

The news that Watson is Cleveland's starter can be generously described as disappointing for a fan base that's experienced little more than indignity since the franchise's return to the city in 1999. Browns fans surely thought they were done with with watching Watson play after three seasons of largely miserable football from Watson from 2022-24.

Amid the realization that Watson actually had a shot at starting again, Browns fans cast their vote on Saturday during the team's first preseason home game against the Buffalo Bills. They booed him repeatedly from the time he entered the game in the second half.

Watson responded to those boos by chastising those fans as "disrespectful" for their understandable response to his presence on the football field.

"I think the whole world knows, it has nothing to do about performance. It's a little bit [more] personal than that," Watson told reporters after the game. "It's a disrespectful thing. I'm going to keep whatever I feel between me and my family. …

"Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. That same fan base cheered when I got hurt. What does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially in their own city, and they cheer."

Now, to the dismay of those same fans, Watson is again their starting quarterback. And the Browns will enter the 2026 season with a quarterback and a fan base that have openly expressed their disdain for one another.

Watson thought he could win over the fan base with charity work in Cleveland. Instead, they haven't forgotten those 24 allegations of sexual misconduct. Nor have they forgotten the poor play that's led the Browns to a 9-10 record in his 19 starts for the franchise.

The Browns are stuck with this situation of their own making. They put themselves in this position by signing Watson to begin with, then putting him up against a quarterback in Shedeur Sanders who's done nothing to demonstrate since being drafted in 2025 that he's a viable NFL starting quarterback.

The result of those decisions is that Watson is once again a starting NFL quarterback in a city that does not want him.