Myles Garrett angers fans over reaction to QB

Before the Cleveland Browns ponder how to move forward in a 1-6 season without their starting quarterback, Myles Garrett made it clear he wouldn't tolerate the fan base's reaction to a pivotal moment Sunday.

After quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, many fans booed the struggling signal-caller as he remained on the field and was later sent off. That didn't sit well with Garrett, the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“Whether it’s an opponent going down or one of our own (players), we don’t boo,” Garrett said in a postgame press conference. “We don’t boo guys who are injured on the field, especially when the car comes out. We should be ashamed as Browns and as fans for booing and bringing anyone down.”

Watson, who was also heavily booed during his pregame introduction, failed in his third season with the Browns, who traded a pick package that included more than three first-round selections for him and later signed him with a fully guaranteed five-year deal. annual commitment. $230 million contract. Cleveland remains the only team in the NFL to score 20 points in a game so far this year.

Still, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski vowed last week to stick with Watson, saying the quarterback “gives us the best chance to win.”

“The man is not perfect. He doesn’t have to be,” Garrett said. “None of us expect to be perfect. I can’t get him for what he does on the field or off the field because I can’t throw stones out of my glass house.”

“But we have to do better. We have to do better on the football field and we have to do better as fans by having empathy for a man who is doing his best and has done the best he can to this point.”

Jameis Winston, who entered Sunday's game as an emergency quarterback after backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a finger injury in the fourth quarter, echoed Garrett's sentiments.

“I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to serve Deshaun, but I'm very upset by the reaction to a man who has had everything against him for the last four years,” Winston told reporters after the game. “And he put his body and his life on the line every single day for this city. Regardless of your perception, regardless of what you thought was going to happen to him, he was committed to being the best every single day that I was here. “He can be for this team.

Watson added: “I don’t want the treatment that Deshaun Watson received from these passionate fans. I know you love this game. When I got here I knew these were some great fans. But Deshaun was treated badly.”

Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 NFL season for violating the league's conduct policy after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. He also only played six games in 2023 before being sidelined with a shoulder injury.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

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