Deshaun Watson took his very first snaps in a sanctioned NFL contest for the first time in over a year on Friday. If anyone expected the Cleveland Browns quarterback to take the field without a hitch, they would've been sorely mistaken.
Watson wasn't on the field for long, going 1-for-5 for just seven yards. But that was enough time for the Jacksonville Jaguars fans in attendance to serenade him with a not-so-kid-friendly chant:
Jags fans chanting “you sick fuck” at Deshaun Watson to kick off the preseason. pic.twitter.com/5UQY8rTrHT
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 13, 2022
Perhaps if the jeers were more PG, an even larger contingent from the crowd would have joined in as well.
What the future holds for Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns this season still remains a mystery. But if there are any certainties from the entire saga, it's that the Browns backed themselves into a corner that will be difficult to maneuver out of.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect to reconcile is trying to identify what the best-case scenario is for the Browns. Obviously, the goal is to win a Super Bowl. The hardest part about constructing a team built to do just that is finding an elite quarterback to lead the way, and Deshaun Watson has undeniable top flight talent on the field.
But just as Gamora asked Thanos as he fended off the Avengers — “What did it cost?”
Never mind the fact that the team still doesn't know exactly when he'll be able to take the field during the regular season. There's a legitimate chance that he can't play at all in 2022 with the NFL appealing the initial six-game suspension Watson was slated to serve. That has kept the quarterback position in flux, with the instability making it difficult to imagine Cleveland becoming a legitimate threat this season. Whenever Watson does serve his suspension, Jacoby Brissett is in line to start at quarterback. Or maybe it will be Jimmy Garoppolo?
Never mind the fact that they had to trade away an eye-watering three first-round picks in a package to acquire the maligned QB in the first place and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million in the process. They need to make sure that mortgaging their future by giving the Houston Texans a boatload of picks doesn't matter in the long run. The price tag being high adds to the pressure to make it all worth it.
The Cleveland Browns cashed in their chips to acquire a quarterback that even the most ardent fan would have serious reservations rooting for. You can argue that there are worse players finding success on the field – in almost any sport, for that matter – that have skeletons in their closet that many fans won't forget.
The difference is that there's hardly a sport where one singular player matters more than the quarterback in football. Deshaun Watson will be the face that represents the franchise for the foreseeable future, for better or much, much worse.
There will be fans that believe the ends justify any means when it comes to winning a Super Bowl. For a franchise as despondent as the Browns have been for several decades, the argument makes sense that having the confetti fall and seeing a parade in Cleveland remedies all wounds.
However, no Browns fan will deny how special it was to see their team end nearly a two-decade-long postseason drought back in 2020. With their first-overall picks leading the way in Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett, the team showed so much promise after wandering the desert for ages.
Not everyone was a fan of the now-traded Mayfield, who had his fair share of shortcomings on the field. But the discussions didn't extend too much to his character outside of football. He's far from the talent Deshaun Watson is, but he doesn't come with the same baggage that Watson does and will continue to carry likely for the rest of his career.
On Friday as the jeers rained on Deshaun Watson, the Browns got their first taste of what it's like fielding a player that opposing fan bases have a clear reason to despise. One that makes it hard for its own fan base to support. And the harsh reality is that the greatest remedy – winning the Super Bowl – is hardly a probability. Watson lifts the Browns into the conversation when he ultimately serves his suspension, but he doesn't make them the favorites.
Deshaun Watson's only possible recourse to appease the Browns fan base is to win a Super Bowl. But when even the best-case scenario comes with an asterisk, was the gamble ever going to be worth it?
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