Kellen Mond Hits Rock Bottom
Four years ago, Rick Spielman escaped the third round of the 2021 draft with quarterback Kellen Mond and offensive guard Wyatt Davis, who both got some hype. Well, those who doubted that hype turned out to be correct.
Kellen Mond Hits Rock Bottom
Mond’s most notable action in the NFL was Mike Zimmer’s expressed disinterest in seeing the man play football, and neither the passer nor the lineman is currently on an NFL team.
The quarterback is trying to make a comeback to the NFL, hoping to audition for that in the UFL, playing for his hometown San Antonio Brahmas, the 2024 runners-up in the spring league.
Through six games, the Brahmas are 1-5, head coach Wade Phillips, father of Vikings OC Wes Phillips, has taken some time off, and the offensive coordinator resigned earlier in the season. Oh, and Mond lost his QB1 gig. It’s a tumultuous season for the Brahmas and Mond.
We reported about the potential demotion last week, and he, indeed, landed on the bench.
Pro Football Newsroom‘s James Larsen posted last weekend, “NEWS: The San Antonio Brahmas will be starting Kevin Hogan at quarterback this week, vs. the Stallions. Hogan has primarily been QB3, but after Payton Pardee opened up the competition in practice this week, the veteran gets the starting nod for the Brahmas.”
Neither Mond nor original backup Jarrett Guarantano played well in the previous blowout loss, so former Cleveland Browns starter Kevin Hogan got the nod.
Prior to the game, San Antonio Express-News’ Greg Luca noted on the situation, “Speaking to the media after the San Antonio Brahmas returned to practice Wednesday, interim coach Payton Pardee said the decision on a starting quarterback is ‘something we’re going to evaluate this week through the course of practices.’”
“Starter Kellen Mond had struggled through the first half of the year as the Brahmas slid to the bottom of the UFL standings at 1-4. Backup Jarrett Guarantano was no more productive after entering in the third quarter of last week’s 27-3 loss to Houston, and an illness kept him out of practices Wednesday and Thursday. So, when the Brahmas released their depth chart ahead of another road test against the Birmingham Stallions at 3 p.m. Sunday, 32-year-old journeyman Kevin Hogan was listed as the starter, tasked with trying to spark San Antonio in his first action of the year.”
Hogan threw for 179 yards and an interception in what turned out to be another big loss.
In his five games, Mond completed 67 of his 118 passes for 597 yards, two scores, and two interceptions. Mond and Hogan now have a nearly identical passer rating this season.
It remains to be seen whether Hogan will continue to be the starter. There’s a chance Guarantano will get his shot, or Mond could return after a one-week break.
Mond’s Vikings tenure was shorter than expected and couldn’t have gone much worse. He got COVID in training camp, leading to Jake Browning’s big day when all the other signal-callers were out. Mond subsequently suffered from weight loss and couldn’t get his body right for a while.
Sean Mannion was named QB2 behind starter Kirk Cousins. The only game action Mond got in his debut season was in the crucial Week 17 game at Green Bay when Cousins landed on the COVID list and Mannion suffered a minor injury during the game that cost him one series. Mond completed two of three passes for five yards, and the most notable pass was the incompletion because it was a dropped pick-six.
After the game, Zimmer’s famous quote, “I see him every day,” took place when he was asked why Mond wouldn’t get some run in the season finale. Zimmer was fired a week later. Unfortunately, Kevin O’Connell also didn’t like what he saw and released him after his preseason action with him.
Since then, Mond has had stints with the Browns, Saints, and Colts.
If someone can’t hack it in the UFL, a return to the NFL isn’t on the table. Another former Vikings quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, who spent a few days with the Vikings in training camp a couple of years ago, is up to almost 1,500 passing yards and 11 touchdowns to four interceptions in six games. If an NFL team needed an arm for a preseason game, they’d call the MVP candidate of the 4-2 DC Defenders, not the benched quarterback from the 1-5 team.
Mond will turn 26 in June and hasn’t come close to the promise he showed in college at any professional stint.
Editor’s Note: Information from the UFL, PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.