Recently, several signs have been attached to the statue of Jim Brown outside of Huntington Bank Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns. Each sign is handwritten and not very nice toward starting QB Deshaun Watson.
So far, the Cleveland Police Department hasn’t opened an investigation. Unless the tape caused any kind of permanent damage, it seems unlikely that one will be opened.
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All of the signage is derogatory toward Watson, who was named this year’s
starting quarterback on Monday. None of the artwork mentions Watson’s backup QB, Shedeur Sanders.
All during training camp, new head coach Todd Monken had stated that the competition for the starting role would go on until he made a decision. This past weekend, Monken stated that on Monday he would announce the starting guy, and then stated that his starter was the veteran Watson.
The criticism was mainly aimed at Monken’s decision to start Watson, but one sign did disparage the Browns’ owners, Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
Part of the displeasure is the fact that when Watson was involved in the trade that brought him from the Houston Texans to Cleveland, he was a three-time Pro Bowler who had just thrown for 4,823 yards with 33 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions and a 70.2% completion ratio for a four-win team. Some of the displeasure relates to the allegations against Watson that led to the 11-game suspension to start his time with the Browns.
But that elite quarterback is not who ended up in Cleveland. The one the Browns ended up with has been a subpar signal-caller who has played in 19 games, missed 33 contests, and was suspended for 11 matches. He has been in Cleveland for four years but played in three. In his three seasons, his numbers aren’t anywhere close to that one exceptional season of 2020 in Houston. Combined.
Since none of the signage has any reference to Sanders, who has a very wide fanbase and believes he is a superstar in waiting, it can only be assumed that the fans who attached the signs were simply anti-Watson. Just this weekend, Watson had criticized the Browns fanbase, then backtracked once he was named the starter.
Monken and the coaching staff made the decision. We will see just how much Watson has in the tank come Week 1 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
What do you think about the signs? Just passionate fan(s) of the team or a “ridiculous” thing to do if you are a fan?
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