BREAKING: New Orleans Saints Release Former Highly-Touted Quarterback

 (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The New Orleans Saints have cut a notable former third-round pick and quarterback from their roster.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the New Orleans Saints waived quarterback Kellen Mond and offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer. The club signed Mond, who spent the 2023 season on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad, two weeks before last month’s 2024 NFL Draft.

Mond clearly became expendable in New Orleans after the team used a fifth-round pick (No. 150 overall) on South Carolina product Spencer Rattler. The Saints’ QB depth chart also features starter Derek Carr, 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener and utility man Taysom Hill.

The 24-year-old Mond spent four seasons at Texas A&M from 2017 to 2020 before getting drafted in the third round (No. 66 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. Mond was viewed as a possible successor to Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins, but Minnesota surprisingly released him after just one season.

Mond spent part of the 2022 season on the Cleveland Browns’ roster, but he didn’t play a single snap for them. The only action Mond has seen to date was a Week 17, 2021 game against the Green Bay Packers, where he completed two of three pass attempts for five years.

New Orleans Saints Aim To End Four-Year Playoff Drought In 2024

The New Orleans Saints won the NFC South four straight years from 2017 to 2020, getting to the Divisional Round three times in that span. But the team has been mired in mediocrity ever since Drew Brees retired in 2021, yet GM Mickey Loomis and head coach Dennis Allen keep trying to reshape them into a playoff team.

And so, the Saints will try again to get back into the postseason with the same core, front office and coaching staff here in 2024. They’re hoping that the additions of Chase Young, Taliese Fuaga and Kool-Aid McKinstry will be enough to win the wide-open NFC South this upcoming season.