Browns claim QB Kellen Mond off waivers

The Cleveland Browns claimed quarterback Kellen Mond off of waivers on Wednesday.

Mond was the only player the team claimed as teams across the league worked to reshuffle their rosters after Tuesday’s cut down to 53 players.

Because he was a waiver claim Mond must be added to the 53-man roster, meaning the Browns must make a corresponding transaction to open up a spot for him. And it looks like defensive end Isaac Rochell is the odd-man out:

Mond was a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings out of Texas A&M. He was inactive for all but two games as a rookie and appeared in just one game where he played three snaps against the Green Bay Packers. He did make the most of those three snaps as he completed two-of-three passes for five yards.

The Vikings soured on Mond during the preseason as he competed with Sean Mannion for the backup quarterback spot behind starter Kirk Cousins. In three preseason games, Mond completed 29-of-51 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions, which did not please head coach Kevin O’Connell, according to The Star Tribune:

“When Kellen came in, we just could not do much. We had a few plays where we had a chance to make something happen and couldn’t.”

With neither Mond nor Mannion instilling confidence, Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ultimately swung a deal to acquire quarterback Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders and the Vikings subsequently released Mond and Mannion this week.

For now, Mond will be the third quarterback for the Browns behind starter Jacoby Brissett and backup Josh Dobbs.