BIG EASY BOMB: Saints Stun NFL by Signing Montana Kid Mellott to Practice Squad

Ladies and gentlemen, pack away the confetti, cancel the parade floats, and hide your foam fingers because Montana’s homegrown quarterback sensation Tommy “Touchdown” Mellott just got slapped with the most humbling of NFL demotions.

That’s right.

The pride of Montana State, the poster child for small-town football dreams, is now officially a member of the New Orleans Saints practice squad.

Practice squad! Not the starting lineup.

Not the glamorous sideline clipboard-holder.

Not even the third-string “just in case everyone else dies” quarterback.

Nope.

He’s officially NFL-adjacent.

 

The move has sent shockwaves through Big Sky Country, where Mellott’s mere name once brought grown men to tears and high school bands to spontaneous trumpet solos.

Now? He’s reduced to running pretend plays against the Saints’ actual defense while Alvin Kamara tries not to trip over him during walkthroughs.

The press release was as dull as day-old gumbo.

“The New Orleans Saints have signed former Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott to their practice squad.

” That’s it.

That’s the whole historic moment.

No fireworks.

No parade down Bourbon Street.

Just a dusty little memo tucked between announcements about roster cuts and injury reports.

Saints fans barely blinked, already distracted by the eternal soap opera that is whether their actual quarterback can throw a spiral under pressure.

But in Montana? Oh, honey, it was DEFCON 1.

Local radio stations dedicated entire call-in segments to weeping mothers who had once baked Mellott cookies after playoff wins.

A diner in Butte allegedly renamed its “Quarterback Scramble” breakfast plate to “Practice Squad Scramble,” complete with extra eggs to symbolize shattered dreams.

Let’s not sugarcoat it.

The practice squad is the NFL’s version of a purgatory waiting room.

Players exist in a twilight zone where they’re technically professionals but also technically expendable.

Mellott, once hailed as “Montana’s Next Big Thing,” now has to hope someone on the Saints’ roster twists an ankle in dramatic fashion before he even gets a whiff of a real jersey on game day.

And yet, his die-hard fans are spinning this like he just got knighted by Roger Goodell himself.

“It’s all part of the journey,” one overly optimistic booster claimed.

“Tommy’s learning, growing, and biding his time. ”

 

Translation? “Please, God, don’t let him get cut before Christmas. ”

Of course, social media went into total meltdown.

Twitter (or X, if you’re clinging to Elon’s fever dream) lit up with hashtags like #MellottMagic and #SaintTommy.

One fan even tweeted, “Mellott will rise like Drew Brees 2. 0.

Just you wait!” To which skeptics replied, “Drew Brees actually played. ”

Meanwhile, Saints fans offered a more sobering take.

One self-proclaimed “lifelong Who Dat” wrote, “Cool, I guess.

Never heard of him.

Is he the guy from Yellowstone?” Another added, “Practice squad signings are like gumbo seasoning.

You don’t notice it unless it’s bad. ”

Fake NFL insiders have already taken the drama up several notches.

A mysterious “league source” whispered to reporters that Mellott impressed the Saints during workouts by “showing grit, determination, and the ability to not throw interceptions against guys who will soon be Uber drivers. ”

An anonymous assistant coach allegedly said, “He’s like Taysom Hill if Taysom Hill was allergic to spotlight. ”

That quote has not been verified, but in the tabloid universe, accuracy is optional and exaggeration is mandatory.

 

But here’s the kicker—pun intended—this might not be as pathetic as it sounds.

The Saints have a history of turning nobodies into somebodies.

Remember that time they signed a grocery store worker during a roster crisis? Okay, maybe that was the Rams, but details are irrelevant.

The point is: Mellott still has a chance.

He could be one injury away from being tossed into a real NFL game where he’ll either become an overnight folk hero or the answer to a trivia question no one asked.

“Who was the guy who threw two pick-sixes against the Buccaneers before disappearing forever?” Oh, that’s right.

Tommy Mellott.

And because no good gossip story is complete without a dramatic twist, let’s imagine what this means for Montana.

Local businesses are already cashing in.

A sports bar in Bozeman is hosting “Practice Squad Sundays,” where fans get discounts on beers every time Mellott doesn’t make the active roster.

High school coaches are rewriting inspirational speeches: “Work hard, kids, and maybe one day you too can hold a clipboard for the Saints!” Meanwhile, Mellott’s former college teammates are reportedly split between pride and smugness.

 

One anonymous player confessed, “Look, we love Tommy, but half of us thought he’d end up selling insurance by now.

So technically this is a win. ”

Of course, critics argue the NFL only signed Mellott because he’s a feel-good story.

He’s the wholesome small-town boy with the tragic underdog arc—exactly the kind of narrative that lets the league pat itself on the back while ignoring actual problems.

“The NFL thrives on these Disney Channel storylines,” grumbled one disgruntled fan.

“Meanwhile, real talent gets buried because they didn’t play at Alabama or Ohio State. ”

Ouch.

But also… accurate?

In the grand scheme of NFL scandals—domestic violence arrests, gambling suspensions, and Antonio Brown doing literally anything—Tommy Mellott’s practice squad signing barely registers.

Yet here we are, dissecting it like it’s Watergate.

Why? Because America loves two things: underdogs and watching those underdogs suffer.

Mellott’s journey is like a reality show where the prize isn’t a million dollars but the slim chance of handing off a football in a blowout loss.

And just when you thought this saga couldn’t get juicier, rumors are swirling that Mellott’s mom already bought season tickets.

Imagine her showing up at the Superdome every Sunday, binoculars in hand, trying to spot her son on the sidelines.

 

“There he is! Number… wait, which one is he again? Is he holding the water bottles?” If that doesn’t warm your heart—or at least make you chuckle—you’re officially dead inside.

So what happens now? Does Tommy Mellott fade into obscurity, another forgotten name in the NFL’s graveyard of practice squad legends?

Or does he rise like a phoenix, seizing his chance when fate finally smiles upon him? Saints fans aren’t holding their breath, but Montana fans are clinging to hope harder than they cling to their craft beer and cowboy boots.

And let’s be real—stranger things have happened.

Kurt Warner went from bagging groceries to Super Bowl MVP.

Brock Purdy went from “Mr. Irrelevant” to breaking the hearts of every Cowboys fan alive.

Why not Mellott?

For now, all we can do is wait.

Wait for the inevitable injury report that might bump Mellott up the depth chart.

Wait for that first preseason highlight reel where he throws a meaningless touchdown in garbage time.

Wait for the tabloids (hi, that’s us) to milk this underdog story until even Mellott himself is tired of hearing about it.

Until then, here’s the hard truth: Montana’s golden boy has traded in the spotlight for the scout team.

But if the NFL is anything, it’s unpredictable.

Today’s practice squad nobody is tomorrow’s SportsCenter highlight.

Or tomorrow’s cautionary tale.

Either way, Tommy Mellott just gave us all something to talk about.

And isn’t that what football is really about?