It will be so much more than just another football game on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns take on the Carolina Panthers at Huntington Bank Field. It will be a social experiment on the grandest scale, with more than 50,000 subjects taking part.
Now that Deshaun Watson is still the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 3, the fan base can let their opinion about that be heard. By all accounts, it is unlikely to be a warm welcome, based on a long list of factors that go well beyond the field.
With that in mind, Cleveland legend Hanford Dixon is calling for Browns fans to rally behind Watson in the 2026 home opener.
“Cleveland should be behind Deshaun,” Dixon posted.
Cleveland should be behind Deshaun. https://t.co/a1ZuFYGQFw
— Hanford Dixon (@HanfordDixon29) September 25, 2026
As someone who has been devoted to the franchise for his entire professional life, Dixon may simply want the Browns to play good football and win games, which they showed they can do with Watson at quarterback in a Week 2 upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So he knows that fan support will help that cause much more than fans turning on the team because of one person.
In addition, as a former NFL player, Dixon, who was an early supporter of Sanders, knows more about the inner workings than outsiders do. Watson is reportedly loved by his teammates, and he has the full backing of the head coach, so the fans might as well get on board, too.
However, that may be way too much to ask, at least for the start of this game. Watson’s contentious history with the fan base goes all the way back to his arrival in a trade with the Houston Texans in 2022.
It includes their feelings about the sexual assault allegations that surrounded him; the price they paid to acquire him, in draft capital and contract dollars; his very limited availability due to suspension and injuries; and his poor play when he was able to take the field. It extends all the way to last month, when he lashed out at them for booing him during a preseason game.
It is a lot to put aside after just one victory, but Watson does have a chance to win them over if he is able to add to that total in the coming weeks, starting on Sunday.
NEXT: Denzel Ward Faces Intriguing Challenge Against Panthers
