Todd Monken defends Deshaun Watson's viral frustration with home fans, plans to make official starting quarterback announcement for Cleveland Browns on Monday
It's business as usual for Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken as he contemplates who will start at quarterback in Week 1 between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.
In a Zoom press conference one day after Saturday's 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills, Monken addressed the controversial comments made by Watson postgame, where he got brutally honest about fans booing him during a miserable outing that saw him complete 5-of-12 passes for 34 yards and an interception.
"It’s a mental battle every day. I feel like I get more love on road games than I do at home games. So, if it is my spot and he does make me the starter, maybe it’s 17 away games, then. I don’t know," Watson said at one point during his venting session.
The comments left many outside the team facility wondering if Watson could mentally handle starting for the Browns this season, while the fan base actively roots against him.
Despite Watson's comments going viral and stirring up plenty of emotions from Cleveland fans, Monken was unfazed, making it clear that the remarks will have no impact on who he names starting quarterback. That decision is expected to come down officially on Monday.
He also downplayed the notion that Watson didn't want to play for the Browns anymore.
"I haven't gotten any of that from him since I've been here," Monken said. "All I've seen from him is a player that's worked awfully hard to get back to where he is now and given himself a chance to compete at the highest level. I've been really pleased with how he's worked, how he's approached every day.
"We control that with how we coach, how we play. And I mean, none of us like to be booed. None of— we all like to be appreciated. I think that's just human.I think he emptied his heart a little bit, uh, and I don't think that says who he is."
For Monken, Watson was simply speaking from the heart and he'll never hold that against someone.
"I think we have to be a little bit careful of judging someone right after going out there to play, feeling like he's put in the work and then to not perform as well as he would have wanted," Monken said. "And like I said, we all want to be appreciated. And he spoke from the heart. And I don't ever blame someone that speaks from the heart."
Monken may be downplaying the situation, but Watson's press conference has evidently sparked quite a wildfire within the fan base. A curious 18 or so hours now await Monken and the Browns as he mulls over a final QB1 decision.
