Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond was terrible in the team’s preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers Saturday night.
A third-round pick of the Vikings out of Texas A&M back in 2021, Mond threw two ugly interceptions as he continued to struggle with mistakes. Two day later, and the Vikings pulled off a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for Nick Mullens. He’ll be QB2 behind Kirk Cousins when the Vikings open their season Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.
This now has Mond and veteran Sean Mannion competing for a spot on the roster with one preseason game remaining.
It stands to reason that Mond might be the odd-man out. Minnesota’s new brass doesn’t have a built-in relationship with him. First-year general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah didn’t give Mond a glowing endorsement by trading for Mullens.
With all of that said, Mond is still only 23 years old and offers some upside. Multiple teams would be interested in adding him on the cheap as a reclamation project should Minnesota put the youngster on the block. Below, we look at four ideal Kellen Mond trade scenarios.
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New York Jets add another young QB
New York’s quarterback room took a hit earlier this offseason when Zach Wilson suffered a knee injury. While the former top-two pick should be back at some point early in the regular season, there could be a need for a third-stringer behind Wilson and veteran Joe Flacco.
Adding Mond on the cheap could be a way for the rebuilding Jets to also light a fire under Wilson following a disastrous rookie season and uneven summer performance prior to his injury. Perhaps, Minnesota looks to add a veteran center in Connor McGovern as part of the deal. He’d be an upgrade over a struggling Garrett Bradbury.
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Denver Broncos add Kellen Mond as backup
Veteran Josh Johnson has looked pretty good thus far this preseason and has the advantage for the Broncos QB2 job behind Russell Wilson. Brett Rypien has not proven he’s anything more than a No. 3 at this stage in the summer.
Why wouldn’t Denver go out there and see what it will take to acquire Mond from Minnesota? After all, the idea of either Johnson or Rypien seeing action should Wilson go down to injury can’t be seen as a good thing.
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Cleveland Browns bring in insurance
With Deshaun Watson suspended for the first 11 games of the season, either Josh Rosen or Josh Dobbs will be Cleveland’s QB2 behind Jacoby Brissett. We’re not saying that Mond would salvage the season should Brissett go down to injury. Instead, he’ll likely be seen as an upgrade over those two journeymen.
In lieu of spending big bucks on Jimmy Garoppolo, Cleveland adds Mond on the cheap. It makes too much sense. In return, Minnesota could see if the Browns are willing to part with right tackle Chris Hubbard to provide the Vikings a realistic swing tackle.
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Seattle Seahawks acquire Kellen Mond
Let’s be clear here. Seattle wouldn’t be tradnig for Mond to be its starting quarterback despite major issues under center. Either Drew Lock or Geno Smith will be the Week 1 starter against former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and the Broncos.
With that said, Seattle’s brass can’t be too confident in either signal caller. Smith struggled big time this past weekend with Lock sidelined to COVID-19. Lock never looked like QB1 material with the Broncos. At the very least, Mond would bring up the level of competition.