CLEVELAND — Relative to other NFL cities, Jacksonville is not known as a particularly hostile environment. Especially in the preseason.
Yet as the Cleveland Browns offense took the field for its 2022 preseason debut on Friday night, the team's starters were met with a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance at TIAA Bank Stadium. It wasn't hard to figure out why, as the exhibition marked quarterback Deshaun Watson's first NFL action since being accused by several women of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault.
Coincidentally or not, Watson's opening series was marred by a bad throw on his first pass attempt, followed by a drop from receiver Anthony Schwartz and a four-yard D'Ernest Johnson run to complete the three-and-out. The rest of the night wasn't much better for Watson, who finished the game 1-of-5 for seven yards in three series of action.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Browns left guard Joel Bitonio -- who didn't play in Cleveland's preseason opener -- said he couldn't say for certain whether the boos affected his team's new quarterback. But he also acknowledged the reality of the situation, which is that the Browns are going to need to get used to playing in front of hostile atmospheres so long as Watson is under center.
“I’m sure every stadium we go to, we’ll get booed," Bitonio said. "I don’t know if it will get worse. I think people get tired of booing. But I’m sure every time he goes out there, there will be some sort of boo to start the game and we’ve got to go from there."
Asked if he expects the boos to die down while Watson serves what is currently slated to be a six-game suspension, Bitonio replied: “I'm not sure about that. I think when Deshaun came out of the game, we got booed less. But you go to a road game, they boo you anyways. We’ll see how it goes. I’m sure it seems more than ever like Cleveland against the world. We’ll be ready for it."
As for how the boos affected the Browns -- and in particular, Watson -- Bitonio said that he thought it was more likely that the Clemson product was rustier than he was rattled. He also noted that Watson wasn't the only Cleveland player to suffer from miscues and that it wouldn't be fair to only blame the quarterback for the offense's sloppy start.
While it's unclear when Watson will next take the field, his name isn't expected to leave the headlines anytime soon. With former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey expected to soon issue a ruling on the NFL's appeal of the six-game suspension that former U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson, it won't be long until the Browns learn how long they'll have to wait for their new star quarterback to make his regular-season debut -- and in the meantime, how long they'll be able to avoid the boos.