Tag: Kellen Mond

NEW: Browns waive QB Kellen Mond, DE Chuck Wiley

The Browns have waived one of their quarterbacks…

The Cleveland Browns have waived one of their young quarterbacks on the heels of their last preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and no, it was not the rookie preseason phenom Dorian Thompson-Robinson. After getting claimed off of waivers by the Browns a year ago, Kellen Mond has been beaten out of a roster spot by the UCLA product Thompson-Robinson.

If Mond goes unclaimed on waivers, look for the Browns to bring Mond back onto their practice squad to keep a quarterback familiar with the system in the building in case of in-season injuries.

Defensive end Chuck Wiley was waived as well.

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WATCH: Kellen Mond connects with Austin Watkins for another preseason touchdown

Watkins continues to kick the door down

Wide receiver Austin Watkins continues to make his case for a spot on the 53-man roster for the Cleveland Browns. Now showing out for the third straight preseason outing, this time against the Philadelphia Eagles, Watkins has found the endzone yet again. This time on the receiving end on a ball from quarterback Kellen Mond.

He has now eclipsed the 100-yard mark in this game, including a dynamic one-handed catch earlier on the drive. The wide receiver room is tight, but Watkins is making life much harder for the Browns as they have a decision to make.

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Does Kellen Mond have a shot at the No. 2 QB job in Cleveland?

Former Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond has continued to progress this preseason, but has he done enough to earn the backup job?

The 2023 NFL Preseason has been what we expected for most teams just looking to get through the month ahead of the regular season kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions on Thursday, Sept. 7.

For the Cleveland Browns, controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson’s $230 million deal comes with lofty expectations in his first season with the franchise. Still, as we’ve seen year after year, injuries happen at the quarterback position, so preparing for the worst is one of several benefits the preseason provides.

So, who is competing to back up Watson this season? That would be veteran backup Joshua Dobbs, former Texas A&M signal-caller Kellen Mond, and former UCLA rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

At 24, Kellen Mond’s NFL trajectory has been interesting thus far. After being selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the 3rd Round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he was released before the 2022 season and was immediately claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns just a day later.

Even with Mond and Dobbs on the roster, the Browns elected to draft Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the 5th Round in the 2023 NFL Draft to solidify their depth while providing even more competition at the No.3 or possibly two spots, spurring Mond to prove once again that he belongs in the league.

Fast forward to the 2023 NFL preseason, specifically Brown’s opening game during the Hall of Fame Game vs. the New York Jets in Dublin (OH), Mond, who, despite one mistake on an interception in the 2nd quarter, he would go 13/19 for 92 yards and a touchdown, yet Thompson-Robinson’s late game heroics to lead the Browns to a 21-17 victory (8-11, 82 yards, 1 TD) overshadowed Mond’s steady performance. Still, all in all, both young men had great showings.

In their second preseason game this weekend against the Washington Commanders, Joshua Dobbs, who remains a slight favorite to land the No.2, started things off after Watsons’ brief series, going 8-16 for 77 yards, followed by Thompson-Robinson’s second consecutive impressive 9-10, 102 yards, 1 TD exclamation point.

However, it was Mond’s final drive that likely caught the eye of Head Coach Kevin Stefanski, throwing for an efficient 79 yards on 7-12 passing while throwing an impressive strike for a touchdown to WR Mike Harley Jr. with just 1:39 left in the fourth quarter, driving the team down the field on ten plays for 78 yards to bring the Browns within two points, before eventually falling 17-15.

With two more games left in the preseason, Dorian Thompson-Robinson may have a leg up on Mond and Dobbs due to his high-end athleticism and impressive confidence. Still, the tape never lies, and Stefanski and his staff have plenty to work with for the next couple of weeks before final decisions are made. For Kellen Mond, the traits are there, and strides were made on Saturday; but to truly compete for a spot on the roster, more “wow!” moments are sorely needed.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns on offense against the Commanders

Who showed up the most on Friday night?

Though the first-team offense of the Cleveland Browns didn’t score on their lone drive of the game they did march right down the field before stalling inside the five-yard line. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson looked comfortable and confident running the offense something he did not do in the final six games last year.

Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson continued his impressive preseason and Kellen Mond have some nice plays late in the game. Elijah Moore showed his versatility by lining up in the backfield and producing from that spot while camp standout Austin Watkins continued to shine. Let’s take a look at the 10 highest-graded offensive players from Friday’s game according to PFF.

WATCH: Kellen Mond connects with Mike Harley Jr. for 6 vs. Commanders

Mond and Harley Jr. are doing his best to put tape out there for all 32 teams to see

The Cleveland Browns scratched and clawed their way back into the game against the Washington Commanders as quarterback Kellen Mond threw a touchdown pass to Mike Harley Jr. to pull them within two. However, the Browns failed to convert the two-point conversion in order to tie the game up.

Regardless, the second and third stringers, led by another spark from Dorian Thompson-Robinson, showed the fight to make this a game after going down 14-2 early on. Mond is unlikely to make the roster, but he is doing his best to audition for 31 other teams around the league.

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3 players who hurt their stock in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

These three players were disappointing in Thursday’s game

Thursday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game saw the return of football after a long offseason as the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets 21-16. Both teams didn’t play many of their starters electing to play younger players and those that are on the fringe of making the roster. Some drastically increased their play with solid play and showed coaches things they were hoping to see in camp and the preseason.

However, there were also some players that make you feel like they should look elsewhere in terms of who makes the roster at that position. Three players stood out ad the most disappointing during Thursday’s preseason game.

Former Aggie QB Kellen Mond will start in the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game

Former Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond will start for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Hall of Fame Game.

With the offseason in the rearview mirror, the NFL’s Enshrinement Week will officially turn the page onto the new season as the first action kicks off on Thursday, August 3. The NFL’s Hall of Fame game has been a staple of the new calendar year, and while it’s just a preseason exhibition, it’s the start of an exciting new season nonetheless.

This year’s game will feature the Cleveland Browns facing the New York Jets, as both teams have ties to the incoming class of inductees. For the Browns, starting quarterback Deshaun Watson will likely not suit up for Thursday’s exhibition. According to the latest reports, a former Texas A&M quarterback will start instead.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanksi shared that former Aggies QB Kellen Mond will start for the team in Thursday’s Hall of Fame game. Playing behind Mond will be rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson, who was taken in the fifth round out of UCLA.

Mond was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 66th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons with the Aggies from 2017 to 2020, throwing for 9,661 yards with 71 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a career 132.0 passer rating in college. He also added 1,609 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground, finishing his career at Texas A&M as one of three SEC quarterbacks, along with Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott, to record over 9,000 career passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards.

Mond is listed as the third-string QB on the Browns’ depth chart, behind current backup Joshua Dobbs. While it remains to be seen whether he can challenge Dobbs for the backup job, a strong showing in the preseason could garner Mond some attention for a similar role elsewhere.

The Hall of Fame Game will be nationally broadcast on NBC and will stream live on Peacock. Coverage starts at 6 p.m. CT, with the game officially kicking off at 7 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

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Kellen Mond to start at QB in Pro Football Hall of Fame Game vs. Jets

No Deshaun Watson or Joshua Dobbs on Thursday night.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is slated for Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns get set to take on the New York Jets. The Browns have already released their depth chart for the game and have now named their starting quarterback as well. As the Browns rest both Deshaun Watson and Joshua Dobbs, head coach Kevin Stefanski has announced that Kellen Mond will start.

Rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson is slated to see plenty of playing time as well in this game. Do not expect many players who will be counted on in the regular season to suit up in their preseason opener, but expect the rookies to get a fair share of reps as they put on the orange and brown for the first time.

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Deshaun Watson not a top ten QB in Madden 24

Madden has the Browns quarterback ranked middle of the pack after bad 2022

The Madden 24 rankings continue to drop as EA Sports has released the quarterback rankings for this year’s game. After missing nearly two seasons and a rough final six games for the Cleveland Browns franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, he found himself ranked 16th best at the position.

Some of the names in front of Watson in the rankings were the Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff, the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, and the New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr. Watson still got high ratings for throwing power and agility. All of the backup quarterbacks ranking around the same as each other with none of them standing out from the rest, let’s look at how Madden sees the Browns position group.

1 veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group for the Browns

After overhauling chunks of their roster, which veterans could find themselves on the bubble as training camp nears?

The Cleveland Browns and general manager set out to add talent not only to positions of need but all over their roster this offseason, and may not be done yet. While the microscope is on the defensive tackle room given how abysmal it was a year ago (meaning second-year player Perrion Winfrey will need to lock in this summer), there are now veterans on the roster bubble in every room.

Who else joins Winfrey as veteran roster bubble candidates as the Browns look to get training camp underway in three weeks? Here is one player per position that will be in a fight for a roster spot.