There will be a new addition to the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback room this preseason. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Eagles have signed former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg to their 90-man roster.
In a corresponding move, the Eagles waived undrafted free agent offensive lineman Ian Park. Once viewed as a top quarterback in college football, Hackenberg has been a disappointment in the NFL.
Hackenberg was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets but has not played in a single NFL game. The Jets traded the 23-year-old quarterback earlier this offseason to the Oakland Raiders.
However, his time in Oakland did not last long as they released him a couple of weeks later.
Hackenberg will now be joining an Eagles team that has strong quarterback depth with Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld, and Joe Callahan.
According to Rueben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the signing of the former Penn State quarterback has nothing to do with the health of Wentz or the play of Sudfeld. He is just another camp arm.
For a majority of training camp, Callahan was the team’s extra camp arm. Now it appears as if he will have some competition with Hackenberg coming aboard.
Aforementioned, Hackenberg was viewed as a top quarterback in college, especially after his freshman season.
Under the tutelage of former Penn State and current Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, Hackenberg succeeded in his pro-style offense.
As a freshman, Hackenberg completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 2,955 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
However, over the next two seasons, the 6-foot-4 quarterback struggled mightily on the field.
It should be interesting to see if the Eagles can further develop Hackenberg over these next three weeks.
Even though he is not going to make the Eagles, Hackenberg can definitely use this opportunity to change the opinion about himself and earn a roster spot somewhere else.
