Thursday night’s broadcast of Steelers-Browns on Prime Video featured plenty of tiptoeing around the elephant that Deshaun Watson dragged into the room with his own actions. From the sit-down interview with Taylor Rooks to the periodic vague references from Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit to Watson’s past issues, there was never a direct mention of the self-created adversity Watson has experienced since 2021.
It meshes with Watson’s broader approach to the situation. He has never shown true, consistent remorse for more than 25 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Although a grand jury declined to indict him in any of the cases that landed in the criminal system, the NFL’s in-house judicial process resulted in an 11-game suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy.
After twice saying he has “no regrets” regarding the situation in 2022, Watson finally apologized in August of that year.
“I want to say that I’m truly sorry to all of the women that I have impacted in this situation,” Watson said at the time. “The decisions that I made in my life that put me in this position I would definitely like to have back, but I want to continue to move forward and grow and learn and show that I am a true person of character and I am going to keep pushing forward.”
The apology happened after Judge Sue L. Robinson suspended Watson six games — but before the situation was settled on appeal with an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine. (The settlement happened because the league wanted a suspension much longer than six games.)
Watson arguably walked back his apology in August 2026, when he made a sweeping statement in response to the specific question of whether he regrets joining the Browns.
“I don’t regret anything in my life,” Watson told reporters after the preseason game during which he was relentlessly booed. “I think the Lord put me through situations for a reason, so I don’t regret anything at all.”
Watson had another chance to express true and complete remorse in his interview with Prime Video. He didn’t.
He referred to the impact of “the world kind of flipping against me” on his “mental state.” As to the fans who continue to boo Watson “because of who they believe you are as a person,” Watson was asked whether the “skepticism” is fair.
“Fair?” Watson said. “Of course, to me I’m going to say, ‘No.’ But life isn’t fair and I understand. I can accept my responsibilities and everything that I went through and feel and move forward.”
He then acknowledged that he can understand the “apprehension” fans may have.
Through it all, there was no mention of the specific reasons for the apprehension or the skepticism. Rooks referred generally to his past as “unresolved.” Michaels glossed over the incidents that contributed to the world “flipping against” Watson. Herbstreit seemed to search for the right words before referring to Watson as “much-maligned.”
On one hand, it’s a four-year-old story. On the other hand, the effects of it continue to linger. Thursday night’s handling of Watson felt like a deliberate effort to boost his redemption story. But redemption can’t come without genuine remorse. And the full scope of his limited comments about the incidents that derailed his career show that he has never expressed true and full and unequivocal remorse.
That’s the question that remains unanswered. Does he believe he was in the wrong, or does he believe it was a misunderstanding or perhaps a mass conspiracy?
It’s a question that won’t be going away. Even as he thrives as Cleveland’s unlikely starting quarterback in the final year of his fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract, plenty of Browns fans will never embrace him. He can believe it’s not fair, he can characterize it as another test from above. Or he can accept the reasons for the resistance and try to finally say and do something to prove that he understands what he did, that he realizes why it was wrong, and that he’ll use his platform and profile to help make a meaningful difference.
At this point, Watson may not feel compelled to do any of that. His redemption story is being written without the need for genuine remorse, thanks in large part to the way his past behavior was whitewashed on Thursday night.