VIDEO: Deshaun Watson Sends Message To City of Houston Ahead of Browns-Texans Matchup

On Sunday, Deshaun Watson will start his first game since January 2021 against his former team, the Houston Texans. His absence is the result of a barrage of sexual misconduct accusations from massage therapists who claim that Watson abused them during therapy sessions. As a result of the allegations and a subsequent NFL investigation, Watson served an 11-game suspension. Twenty-four lawsuits were eventually filed against Watson, all but one of which have been settled.

The setting for Watson's return -- NRG Stadium -- is obviously a familiar one for the former Texans star, who maintains a home in Houston. Selected by the Texans with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watson guided Houston to back-to-back AFC South titles in 2018 and '19, then led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards in 2020.

Here is the message he sent out to the Texans' fan base.

On Thursday, Watson said he's focused on the game, not his reception in Houston this weekend, although he's uncertain how Texans fans will react.

"I'm not sure," Watson said. "My main focus is locked in on the game plan, to try and execute and make sure I'm keeping the standard the standard for the Cleveland Browns, so we can try to win."

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