A Former Vikings QB Will Start Tonight in the Hall of Fame Game
Super Bowl LVII took place on February 12, a total of 172 days ago. Since then, we have not seen a live NFL game take place.
That all changes tonight when the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets take the field for this season’s Hall of Fame Game, kicking off the NFL preseason. When folks turn on the game, they will see a former Vikings QB taking the field.
A Former Vikings QB and The HoF Game
That QB is Kellen Mond, whom the Vikings selected in the third-round of the 2021 NFL Draft. NFL Network’s Steve Wyche tweeted on 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 entered the NFL after a four-year collegiate career at Texas A&M. With the Aggies, he passed for 9661 yards, 71 TDs. and 27 INTs over 46 games. Heading into the NFL Draft, many crowned him as an underrated prospect, with Lance Zierlein of NFL.com giving him a player comp of Colin Kaepernick.
However, things simply never worked out for Mond with the Vikings. During his rookie season, he went through frequent struggles during training camp and preseason. When the regular season rolled around in 2021, he would appear in just one game, attempting three passes against the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. He completed two of them for 5 yards.
His lackluster showing during his only drive of the game led to Mike Zimmer’s infamous comments during the postgame press conference. When asked if he wanted to see more of Mond in the regular season finale, the head coach had responses of “not particularly” and “I see him every day.”
2022 unfortunately didn’t go much better for Mond in terms of carving out a role on the Vikings roster. He remained erratic as a passer during training camp and preseason, completing 29-of-51 passes for 303 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs over the three exhibition games.
With neither Mond or Sean Mannion truly emerging as QB2 candidates for new head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings swung a trade to acquire Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders. At the end of camp, like so many 2021 Draft picks, Mond was cut by the team.
A day later, Mond was claimed by the Cleveland Browns where he has remained ever since. The Browns had traded for Deshaun Watson earlier in the offseason and also employed Jacoby Brissett, so Mond did not see any action with the team last year.
Now, heading into the 2023 season, Mond is once again trying to solidify a role as a backup QB in the NFL. Watson remains in Cleveland, hoping to improve from what was a very disappointing six games in 2022. Mond no longer has to compete with Brissett for that backup job, but Cleveland does employ 2023 fourth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was connected to the Vikings at different times during the pre-draft process.
Mond’s journey towards making the final roster in Cleveland for 2023 could take a big step forward in tonight’s game.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
