BOOED AT HOME, WATSON SHOULD LEAVE CLEVELAND AS A $230 MILLION WASTE

As he took his time fastening a diamond earring, which reminded us of his $230 million contract, Deshaun Watson decided to forget the women who accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate contact. In his twisted mind, Cleveland fans were “disrespectful” Saturday when they booed him.

He still doesn’t grasp why the trade that brought him from Houston, via Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, reeks as the worst in NFL history. The folks badgered Watson because they loathe him and his very short memory about crime. He’s in the final season of a five-year contract and has played only 19 games because of injuries, an 11-game suspension and terrible outings. Though Shedeur Sanders is the only option as the starting quarterback, they wish Watson would leave town at dusk.

Instead, he appears at a press conference and rips the hometowners at Huntington Bank Field. Never mind if he completed only 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards and an interception. Never mind if more than two dozen women said he wasn’t interested in massage sessions. Why didn’t Haslam eat the massive contract and three first-round picks he sent to the Texans? Why didn’t he sell the franchise? He preferred to give Watson one last chance, which failed at the podium following a 31-7 loss to Buffalo. Boos were bad bruises, he said.

“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said. “It’s a little bit (more) personal than that. So I think it’s a disrespectful thing. So yeah, I mean, I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And yeah, just move on.”

He can’t continue until he is removed from the competition. The last time Watson played in Cleveland was 22 months ago, when he tore his right Achilles tendon. The fans booed him that day, too. He shouldn’t be in the first training camp of new coach Todd Monken. His mind is locked in yesteryear, diminishing the skills that made him an elite performer between 2018 and 2020.

“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fanbase, they cheered when I got hurt,” Watson said. “So, what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially playing for your own city, and they cheer?”

If he reacts so emotionally after a preseason game by Lake Erie, what in the world will happen if he starts for the Browns? “I feel like I get more love in road games than I do home games,” Watson said. “So, if it is my spot ... maybe it’s 17 away games then. I don’t know.”

Monken must start Sanders and prepare for the next three drafts. If they lose 15 games, so be it, after the Browns acquired a first-round pick next year and two high picks the following two years in the Myles Garrett deal with Los Angeles. “I know you asked (Watson), like, ‘Hey, how does it feel to get booed?’ It’s a pretty easy question -- it sucks,” Monken said. “I don’t want to get booed. It comes with the territory. You don’t want to get booed? Let’s play good football.

“Let’s play good at quarterback. Let’s play good on offense. Let’s play good as a team. And then you don’t have to worry about all that because it can turn just like that. Win, play good football, and everybody will be fine. That’s just part of it. That’s what I told him. ‘You good? We’re good.’ Part of what we do.”

The problem with Sanders: He also took apart fans for abusing Watson. Again, they keep asking why they live in Northeast Ohio, where two quarterbacks fire back when neither should start. “I don’t appreciate that at all,” Sanders said. “Just regardless of competition, we all human beings, and I think we all need to understand that. And however y’all feel about the situation — about with Deshaun, about with everything — still I think it’s about bigger purpose of just respect. You know, it’s a respect thing that I feel like should be there. Because we all out there trying to do out best, and we’re trying to serve the franchise the best way possible.”

On the telecast, part of a preseason package shown on ESPN, the Browns want fans to prepare finances for a new domed stadium. Why would anyone give bucks to a team where well-deserved boos are met with disdain? Somehow, Monken is trying to remain true to a tough situation.

“I really am jacked with how we did it,” he said of the QB derby. “Some other people might not see it that way, but in order to make an educated decision on both players, we needed to see them both practice and play. That’s just part of it. It’s not the easiest or most ideal, but it gives us the best opportunity to see who gives us, when we go to Jacksonville, the best chance to win and score points. Because ultimately, that’s what matters.”

Kevin Stefanski failed. Freddie Kitchens failed. Hue Jackson failed. Mike Pettine failed. Rob Chudzinski failed. Pat Shurmur failed. Eric Mangini failed. Romeo Crennel failed. Butch Davis failed. They are the Cleveland coaches in the last 25 years.

Monken is hanging already. He has no quarterback, a mean price when $230 million was guaranteed.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.