Oakland Raiders: Don’t lose sleep over Christian Hackenberg acquisition
Why would the Oakland Raiders acquire quarterback Christian Hackenberg who hasn’t played in a single game in two NFL seasons?
Here’s an Oakland Raiders spoiler alert: Christian Hackenberg won’t challenge Derek Carr for the starting quarterback spot.
We all know head coach Jon Gruden enjoys working with quarterbacks. The Raiders have their franchise signal-caller in place with EJ Manuel and Connor Cook in backup roles. Still, it won’t sway the Raiders head coach away from kicking the tires on a former second-round pick.
The Raiders traded a conditional seventh-round selection for Hackenberg Tuesday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport laid out the details and conditions:
Tidbits on the Christian Hackenberg trade to Oakland: 1. The #Raiders won’t release another QB in the short-term. 2. The pick conditions are tied to him being on the roster a certain number of games. 3. His comments did not lead to the trade. Had nothing to do with it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2018
ESPN’s Adam Schefter went back into the archives for Gruden’s comments about Hackenberg in 2016:
Nobody should be surprised that Raiders’ HC Jon Gruden traded today for former Jets’ QB Christian Hackenberg considering this: pic.twitter.com/Um4S1IFC7a
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 22, 2018
Two years ago, Hackenberg appeared on ESPN’s Gruden QB Camp and the former Monday Night Football color commentator pointed out what he liked about the Penn State product’s game:
Above all, Hackenberg’s size at 6-4, 230 pounds and mobility intrigued Gruden. He’s strong enough to stand in the pocket but has the ability to avoid pressure.
In reality, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see these tools on display during training camp and preseason. However, Hackenberg remains a long shot to beat Manuel or Cook for a backup spot on the 53-man roster.
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Last year, Manuel appeared in two games and started against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. He looked like an average backup signal-caller in the league. In two years, Cook appeared in one regular season contest and started in a postseason game for the Silver and Black. Hackenberg would have to show major development to justify cutting ties with either passer.
Before the trade, Hackenberg shared his frustrations concerning his development in New York over the past two seasons, per ESPN.com reporter Rich Cimini:
"There were some times when I threw it really good during my first two years here. That was the frustrating part for me, the ups and downs and not knowing why — does that make sense? — and not really getting any information from anybody on how to fix that and how to address it."
In Oakland, the third-year signal-caller will have a fresh start. Though, Gruden will no doubt focus on getting the best out of Carr to lead the offense.
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Nonetheless, depth at quarterback adds a security cushion in case the starter goes down with an injury. We know what this offense looks like without Carr in the previous two seasons, and it’s not pretty.
Despite Hackenberg’s steep climb to make the final roster, no one can blame Gruden for at least trying to develop backups for just-in-case scenarios. Remember, the conditions for the seventh-round tradeoff stick if the former second-rounder remains on the roster for a certain amount of games. It’s essentially a camp tryout.