Former Vikings QB to Start in Hall of Fame Game on Thursday

Kellen Mond flopped with the Vikings but is getting another chance in Cleveland.

Former Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond will start for the Browns in the Hall of Fame game against the Jets on Thursday night, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski announced this week. He'll play the first half and then give way to rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson after halftime.

Update: Mond went 13 of 19 for 92 yards with one touchdown and one interception thrown to a former teammate. Original story continues below.

Mond, the 66th overall pick out of Texas A&M in 2021, lasted just 16 months in Minnesota. As a rookie under the Vikings' previous regime, he went 28 of 51 (55 percent) for 310 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in the preseason. Then-head coach Mike Zimmer didn't even play him in the meaningless regular season finale that year, infamously saying after the previous game that he didn't want to get a look at Mond in Week 18 because he sees him play every day in practice.

When Kevin O'Connell replaced Zimmer last year, Mond was competing with fellow holdover Sean Mannion for the team's backup quarterback job. However, that duo played so poorly that the Vikings cut them both and traded for Nick Mullens to fill the role. In his second NFL preseason, Mond was 29 of 51 (57 percent) for 303 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks.

The Browns claimed Mond off waivers last year when he was cut by the Vikings. Now, as he enters his third NFL season, the pressure is on for the 24-year-old QB to take a step forward in preseason action. Cleveland has four quarterbacks on its roster with Deshaun Watson, Joshua Dobbs, Mond, and Thompson-Robinson. And given that DTR is younger and was actually drafted by the Browns, he may have a leg up for the third-string role.

If Mond impresses during this preseason, he should be able to stick around on someone's roster, whether that's in Cleveland or not. If he continues to struggle, he could find his time in the league coming to an end.

Mond's first opportunity with the Browns comes on Thursday night at 7 p.m. central on NBC.

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