Mar 5, 2021; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond attends the House of Athlete Scouting Combine for athletes preparing to enter the 2021 NFL draft at Inter Miami Stadium Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports.
When you turn on the television Thursday night, for the first hint of quasi-real NFL action since Super Bowl LVII, a former Minnesota Vikings quarterback will welcome you back.
He’s Kellen Mond, tabbed as the starter for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL’s welcome-back Hall of Fame game.
NFL Network’s Steve Wyche tweeted on the X app Tuesday, “Kellen Mond will start at QB for the Browns in the Hall of Fame game Thursday vs the Jets. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will be Cleveland’s QB in the second half, according to Coach Kevin Stefanski.”
Mond is evidently the QB2 in Cleveland — or close to it — behind Deshaun Watson, and the Browns will wisely rest most starters. Cleveland also employs Thompson-Robinson, mentioned by Wyche, and veteran passer Joshua Dobbs.
The Browns will take on the New York Jets in Canton, OH, in the Hall of Fame game, and once-promising QB Zach Wilson will start for the Jets. New York, like Cleveland, will rest its QB1 (Aaron Rodgers).
The Vikings evaluated Mond in training camp and last year’s preseason, leading to a trade involving Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders. The moment Mullens set foot in Eagan, Minnesota, he became the Vikings QB2 without having to toss a preseason pass.
Mond was drafted by the Vikings former leadership regime in 2021 as a possible contingency plan for QB1 Kirk Cousins. Fans endlessly debate whether Cousins is actually a worthwhile franchise quarterback, so the addition of Mond was viewed as a grand what-if.
Yet, aside from a few flashes of competence — mainly in the first preseason game of 2022 — Mond was terrible. The Vikings knew Mond was developmental and raw, however, he leaned heavily on the raw trait during his brief Minnesota tenure.
The Vikings waived Mond on August 31st, 2022, and he latched onto the Browns roster via waivers the next day. He didn’t play any regular season snaps for the 2022 Browns — even with the aforementioned Watson suspended for 11 games — but now hopes to become Cleveland’s QB2.
Interestingly, Mond’s teammate, Thompson-Robinson, was the object of some Vikings fans’ desire leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. The UCLA alumnus is mobile, strong-armed, and deemed an ‘upside’ talent — much like Mond. Ergo, a handful of Vikings loyalists will watch the Hall of Fame game with enhanced intrigue because of Mond, the former Viking, and Thompson-Robinson.
The Browns have played in the Hall of Fame game five times, with the Jets making their third appearance.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.