Deshaun Watson responds to the NFL world clamoring for his benching this week

Coach Kevin Stefanski, asked if he’s addressed the public outcry for Watson’s job with his QB1, noted that he talks to him all the time.

“I think respectfully, we have to focus on what’s going on inside of our building and not necessarily pay attention to what’s going on outside the building,” Stefanski said.

Receiver Jerry Jeudy admitted he’s seen and heard the roar for Watson’s benching, which is hard to miss unless you turn off your phone and embark on a darkness retreat.

“Yeah. I mean I’m on Twitter sometimes and you see that, but man, that’s just the world we live in no matter what,” Jeudy said. “No matter how good Deshaun is playing, if we’re losing, everybody’s going to have an opinion, but once we start up and get this rolling, everybody’s going to change their story, change the narrative on things. That’s just how the media works.

“When we lose, they’re going to talk bad about you. When you win, they’re going to be all on your side. So we can’t control that. We’re just going to keep doing us, keep working and we’ve got Deshaun’s back. We know the type of player he is and what he’s capable of and we’re going to just keep working.”

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel, now co-host of The Facility on FS1, called for Watson’s ouster, like every other NFL analyst over the past three days.

“When I walk into a huddle as a QB, the group of men looking at me better have BELIEF & be INSPIRED by me,” he posted on X. “Deshaun Watson has ZERO equity inside that Browns huddle. How can you continue on with him?”

ESPN’s Mike Greenberg made the case that the Browns trade for Watson is the worst acquisition in NFL history. They not only surrendered three first-round picks for him, but gave him $230 million guaranteed, the first fully-guaranteed pact in the history of the NFL. Watson averages $46 million a year, with two years left on his deal after this. Watson went 3-3 in his first season after an 11-game suspension, 5-1 last season with his shoulder injuries, and 1-4 this year.

“If they cut him, his dead cap hit for next year would be $172 million,” Greenberg said. “They couldn’t pay Ohio State with what is left over in a salary cap, much less an NFL team, if they were to get rid of Deshaun Watson.”

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky concluded that Watson’s eight-year career is over, despite the fact he’s been sacked a league-high 26 times and has been without tight end David Njoku for most of the season.

The Browns have been challenged at both tackle spots all season, and Amari Cooper has had three rough outings, including two dropped sure-TD catches, a pick that bounced off his chest, and an errant route on the goal-line in Las Vegas with the game on the line.

“The Cleveland Browns are in the worst situation in pro spots,” Orlovsky said. “They’re done and so is Deshaun Watson. If you want to see a situation where the head coach has absolutely no say over who’s playing on the field, it’s happening in Cleveland.”

That’s been the narrative among experts, that Stefanski is being prevented from benching Watson. But he made it clear on Monday that it’s his decision, and that he believes the offensive problems are systemic. He also discusses his decisions with GM Andrew Berry and Jimmy Haslam, but has free rein to make lineup moves.

He acknowledged that Watson, who played arguably his best game as a Brown the week before in the loss to the Raiders, could’ve played better against the Commanders. Watson went 15 of 28 for 125 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a 77.2 rating. He was also strip-sacked on one of his seven sacks, and occasionally bolted a clean pocket.

“I think there’s definitely moments that the pocket’s clean and we can deliver from the pocket and Deshaun has done that and knows that,” Stefanski said. “There’s other times that we have to shore it up and when it comes to pass protection, I think I’ve told you guys this before, it’s not just the offensive line. It can certainly be your running backs and your tight ends.

“It can be you were playing on time in the pass game, so your receiver isn’t getting open, those type of things. So, it’s an area that we have to get better, no doubt, and I think Deshaun understands that as well. And I think he’s committed to getting better as well.”

Watson was asked about missing an open Jerry Jeudy in the end zone and taking a sack on first and goal from 7 after Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s forced fumble in the third quarter. He answered about another Jeudy miss, one on which he was strip-sacked by linebacker Bobby Wagner, but the sentiment was the same.

“At this position, no one’s perfect,” he said. “No one’s going to always make the right read, so you can nick and pick one play here and there, but I think it’s the body of work of the whole game.

“And I think that for me to be able to lead this offense to where we want to go and what we expect, it’s just making sure that each and every play is within itself and not try to get the 21 points — I can’t remember how much we’re down by — but try to get all of it back at once, doing too much. I take full responsibility of that. There’s going to be plays that happen like that. Every quarterback has that.”

He acknowledged that he pressed in that game with so much going wrong. The Browns had protection problems, penalties, dropped passes, missed receivers and more.

“You could say that,” he said. “You can say I was trying to do too much, trying to make the big plays, trying to create things where I didn’t need to create things, but at the same time it was just the flow of the game and how the game kind of goes. They got up on us fast and we were trying to get back in the game as soon as possible because in the NFL you can’t, every rep and every position possession that you have is very important.

“And yeah, I think that we’ve just got to simplify it and just take it one play at a time. We’ve got to concentrate and lock in and just have that confidence on that play that we’re going to give 110% and it worry about the next play when it comes.”

Despite Watson’s struggles in that game, he takes heart in the fact his teammates fully support him.

“They’re just telling me that, ‘Hey, you’re still one of the top guys in this league, believe that, have that confidence when you step on the field, lead us to where we need to go,’” Watson said. “‘We all support you, we’re all are motivated for what you bring to this table. We know that things have got to click overall, everything’s got to work in place.’

“So, yeah, all those guys are making sure that I’m keeping my head up, staying locked in and focused and not getting down on myself and not being too hard on myself. At the end of the day, I just have to continue to just put in that work and trust them, trust myself and go out there and perform at a high level.”