Deshaun Watson had plenty to talk about. And when Taylor Rooks is holding the microphone, you already know the conversation is not going to be a simple “How are you doing?”
During the NFL on Prime Thursday Night Football pregame broadcast, Watson sat down with Rooks and opened up about his contract, mental health, his time in Cleveland, and everything that has followed him during his NFL journey.
So basically, Rooks showed up with questions and Watson brought a suitcase full of answers.
#Browns QB Deshaun Watson sat down with @TaylorRooks for a wide-ranging interview covering the public’s perception of him, his time in Cleveland, his contract, his mental state and more.
(📽️ @NFLonPrime)pic.twitter.com/NXyViqTN4a
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 2, 2026
“The biggest is just my mental state,” Watson said when asked about his up-and-down play in Cleveland. “I don’t think it’s ever really been the physical part. I was dealing with a lot; I was dealing with the world kind of flipping against me. And it was hard, honestly. I think being able to grow through that and manage through that, it took time.”
Watson described himself as mentally absent in recent years and stated that he talks with someone weekly to work through mental and emotional struggles.
Rooks pressed Watson on the boos coming from both poor performance and off-field controversy, plainly asking, “Is that skepticism fair?”
“Fair? Of course, to me, I’m gonna say no,” Watson said after a deep breath. “But life isn’t fair, and I understand. I can accept my responsibilities and everything that I went through and feel and move forward.”
“You do understand the apprehension, whether you agree with it or not?” Rooks asked.
“I definitely understand it. Yes, ma’am,” Watson said.
Watson’s interview gave viewers a chance to hear him discuss his career and personal experiences in his own words.
From there, Watson said that he “didn’t want to get my hopes up” about Browns fans cheering him instead of booing, as they did after he led Cleveland to a win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.
Still, Watson hasn’t changed his stance on fans booing him in the preseason — contradicting what he’d said a few moments prior about understanding fans’ apprehension.
“I understood some of it,” Watson said. “But a lot of it, especially when it becomes more character[-based], that’s where I didn’t really agree with it. We can talk about performance and things like that, of course, because I feel like, the last couple of years, I wanted to play and play better. It just didn’t happen that way.”
Whether fans agree with everything he says is another conversation entirely.
But one thing is clear: Watson still has plenty to say about everything involving himself.
Rooks asked Watson about the expectation of earning every penny of his historic guaranteed contract, to which he said, “I agree with that. I mean, that’s what they pay us to do. To be able to earn the money and be the top guy. To [whom] much is given, music is required. So, a lot of attention and pressure is going to be on myself.”
Watson said he wants his tenure with the Browns to be remembered as “special,” and then he displayed the same startling lack of self-awareness that has plagued him this whole time.
“I think, just everything that I battled, everything that I went through, I rose through it,” Watson said. “I continue to have grace, I continue to give, I continue to show that I have that grit and that determination to be the best that I possibly can be for this city.
“Regardless of what went on the last couple of years and what people said about me, I still appreciate the opportunity that I have to play in front of this fan base. Play for the organization. And do the best I can to bring wins and something positive.”
With the spotlight still firmly on Deshaun, his next chapter will probably come with just as many questions as the last one.
