Deshaun Watson might have won the QB1 job by winning Todd Monken’s trust. But at the end of the day, whether Watson wins the Cleveland Browns fans’ love is a major mystery. According to former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, even winning a Super Bowl cannot protect him from fans’ hate.

“I heard some people in Cleveland said even if he won a Super Bowl, they’d boo him,” Griffin III said on Outta Pocket on August 25. “So I just think that mentally he is going through something that not a lot of people have to go through, but he created a situation for himself.

“So when he says at the press conference, man, ‘I really thought they would have a different reaction when I step on that field because I’ve been gone for two years,’ I know that when you look at the history of Deshaun Watson in Cleveland, that has to be the most out of sync, out of touch, lack of self-awareness statement I’ve ever heard in my life. If they booed you when you got hurt, they’re not going to cheer for you when you come back.”

Having played for the Browns and a quarterback himself, Griffin III knows what it takes to win the fans’ hearts. Against the Buffalo Bills on August 22, the veteran did put up a poor performance. He finished with 5-for-12 for 36 passing yards and one interception. His return to Huntington Field was a near-replica of 2024: fans made sure to voice their feelings about Watson, like they cheered when he was carted off two years ago after tearing his Achilles.

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Watson was booed after he took over from Shedeur Sanders in the third quarter. On third down, Mike Danna made contact with his arm as he threw, causing the pass to fall far short. The boos only grew louder, and Watson finished with only 5-of-12 on passes for 36 yards and an interception.

During the post-game presser, the veteran said it was “disrespectful” for the fans to boo him.

Watson arrived at Cleveland an unpopular figure. More than twenty women had accused him of sexual assault, and the franchise knew about the controversies before they signed him for a whopping $230 million, fully guaranteed, five-year contract.

When available, Deshaun Watson failed to live up to expectations in Cleveland. Through 19 games, he has completed 341 of 557 passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He has never played a full season for Cleveland, and team owner Jimmy Haslam also said that Watson was a big “swing and a miss for the team.”

The veteran quarterback would need something miraculous and a historic performance to turn the tide.

“There’s one thing that cures it: playing better and winning,” Chad Johnson said on the Nightcap podcast. “Boy, you hear the loudest cheers you never heard before. If they get something they haven’t gotten in a very long time, consistent play at the quarterback position, and Ws at the end of games. That’s all they care about. Those bulls will turn into cheers, and they will be happy. They don’t care about nothing else.”

The 2026 season now comes as a big test for Watson to turn the boos into cheers.