On Tuesday, news broke that the Jets traded quarterback Christian Hackenberg to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a conditional 2019 7th round pick. Hackenberg was a second round pick in 2016 and never played a single snap during a regular season game.
It was seemingly inevitable that neither Bryce Petty nor Hackenberg would make the Jets roster, especially after the Jets selected Sam Darnold No. 3 overall in this year’s draft. The two were bound to find a new home eventually, and now they both have. Petty will play for the Dolphins, and Hackenberg the Raiders. Both quarterbacks didn’t pan out the way the Jets wanted them to, and Gang Green has moved on from their mistakes.
The 7th round pick is conditional, and will be awarded to the Jets dependent on how many weeks Hackenberg remains on the Raiders roster. Hackenberg is one of four quarterbacks on the Raiders current roster. Hackenberg will have to fight for a spot on that roster, and in the meantime he will be fighting for a 7th round pick for the Jets.
2nd Round Flop?
Hackenberg will be written down as one of Mike Maccagnan’s biggest mistakes as a GM, and he will be forever engraved into Jets history as a bust. In the past 11 years, Hackenberg is one of five second round picks to never play a snap. The other four all suffered major injuries. Hackenberg was inactive for 27 of his 32 career regular season games as a Jet. To make that clearer, he only suited up for five games. Five. Out of 32. He was never hurt once.
Today was the first voluntary OTA as well, and Hackenberg was in attendance. He was given limited reps throughout the whole day, and zero during 7v7 and team drills. Bowles later said that the potential trade was the primary reason for this. It seemed like Hackenberg didn’t know this, considering he was upset during his time with the media.
My take on Christian Hackenberg's comments: He's frustrated and wants a fresh start somewhere else. Can't blame him. Time for the Jets to move on. Will he get his wish? Stay tuned. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) May 22, 2018
Bowles spoke about Hackenberg during his interview with the media. He said “Some players, it takes awhile for them to get going. Some go to Canada, some go to different teams and some do different type of stuff. We did everything we could to try to help him as best we could.”
The Hackenberg era in New York is officially over. One can only hope that the Sam Darnold era will be much, much better. We wish the best of luck to Hackenberg and hope he hits his stride in Oakland.
– James Cunningham is a staff writer for Full Press Coverage Jets and covers the New York Jets. Like and follow on Follow @nyjfansnationFollow @FPC_Jets
