tommy mellott
Getty
Former Raiders WR Tommy Mellott.
The Las Vegas Raiders made a very intriguing move when they drafted former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott as a wide receiver. Thanks to his raw athletic ability, many teams saw a position change as necessary.
While the Raiders knew he was going to be a project, they didn’t have much patience with him and decided to cut ties when they trimmed the roster down to 53 players. Surprisingly, they decided against bringing him back on the practice squad once he cleared waivers.
Mellott stayed in free agency for a bit, but it looks like he’ll have a chance to make a team for the regular season. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the New Orleans Saints have signed Mellott to their practice squad.
Notably, he was listed as a quarterback in Pelissero’s report. It appears the Saints don’t see him as a pure wide receiver. Perhaps they believe he can serve a similar role to Taysom Hill.
It remains to be seen exactly what type of plans the Saints could have for Mellott. He has a lot of athletic ability, but he’s likely not an NFL quarterback full-time. If he can become a versatile playmaker, then he could have value to the team.
John Spytek Explained Why Raiders Gave up On Mellott
The Saints are in a total rebuild right now, so this is the perfect time for them to take on projects. The Raiders are trying to win in 2025, so it’s more difficult for them to give valuable roster spots to players they don’t think can play this season.
That’s essentially what general manager John Spytek said when explaining the decision to move on from Mellott.
“I have a lot of respect for Tommy, and there was a lot of hard decisions that we made the last couple of days. Ultimately, our responsibility, coach (Carroll) and myself, is to put the best 53, and then 17 after that, to get ready to win football games,” Spytek told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s always a development part of that, too. But there’s a reality, sometimes, that who is most ready, and who is furthest along and who can help this team win the most. Ultimately, we made some decisions that didn’t include him, for now.”
Will Raiders Regret Letting Mellott Walk?
The Raiders were really excited about Mellott when they drafted him. Spytek even noted that he didn’t bring him in for a visit because he didn’t want other teams to know that he was on their radar.
That’s why it surprised many fans when the Raiders wouldn’t even put him on the practice squad. However, the team only used a sixth-round pick, so it wasn’t a huge investment. Mellott is really athletic, so there’s a chance he could become an NFL-level player.
Even if that’s the case, he’d have to have a Julian Edelman-type trajectory for the Raiders to truly regret letting him go. Considering the Saints are listing him as a quarterback, Las Vegas likely doesn’t need to worry about him becoming the next great slot receiver anytime soon.