Former Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg Cut By Oakland, Faces Uncertain Future

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Just a few weeks ago, former Penn State standout Christian Hackenberg was traded from the New York Jets to the Oakland Raiders. Now, just 21 days after he was traded, first-year (well, kinda) Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden decided it was time to move on. Hackenberg was released by the Raiders in order to make room for much-needed defensive line help.

Per ESPN:

“I was disappointed in not really giving Christian the opportunity to go to camp,” Gruden said after practice Tuesday. “We felt like we needed to add a couple defensive linemen. We ran out of numbers, and that’s not good at that position heading into camp.”

To be honest, he didn’t stand much of a chance anyhow. The Raiders already have a legit starter in Derek Carr and a veteran back-up with starting experience in EJ Manuel. Essentially, he would have been fighting for a third-string spot with another Big Ten product, former Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook, and Cook actually has NFL reps under his belt.

Now, after two seasons with the Jets and a few weeks with the Raiders, Hackenberg is at a crossroads. He hasn’t played well in the preseason action he’s seen, like, at all. In parts of six games, he completed less than 50 percent of his throws (59-for-121) with three touchdowns and four picks. Three out of his six appearances saw completion percentages below 40 percent. Rough stuff. Then, when you throw in the fact that he wasn’t even handed a start for the hapless Jets, who had practically nothing in terms of signal callers, it makes you think he isn’t talented enough for the league. We’re not at these practices but it must be very, very poor. And by now, with all the bad news he has received, you’ve gotta worry about his mindset. Is Hackenberg willing to be a project for a team? Just fighting for a third-string spot? No one really knows, I guess.

Hopefully, he gets another shot. At the very least, he has the frame to be successful. I mean, 6-foot-4 is the size NFL coaches drool over. He just needs to make the throws that NFL QBs are expected to make. He had a tough time with accuracy at Penn State and it’s followed him to the NFL.

Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd called this way back when, just for the record. He starts talking about Hackenberg around the 2:16 mark, noting that he completed just 53 percent of his throws as a senior at Penn State (and a whole lot more).

It should be noted that the seventh-round pick that Oakland sent the Jets has been negated because he was cut.