Report: QB Christian Hackenberg Visits Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- Christian Hackenberg was not good enough to play for the New York Jets. He was not good enough to last even a few weeks with the Oakland Raiders.
Yet the quarterback is apparently good enough to at least draw some interest from none other than the New England Patriots.
ESPN's Field Yates reported Thursday that Hackenberg visited the Patriots in Foxboro.
It's always news when any quarterback visits the Patriots, but the Hackenberg visit is a little intriguing, given his history. Hackenberg was drafted out of Penn State in the second round -- 51st overall -- in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He was selected much higher than most experts predicted, but the Jets clearly had high hopes.
But Hackenberg never really was given an opportunity to reward that confidence. He was inactive for all but one game in his rookie season, and overall across two seasons, he did not play a single down for the Jets. The quarterbacks who did play in those two seasons were Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty, and Josh McCown.
In May, the Jets traded Hackenberg to Oakland for a conditional seventh-round pick, but the Raiders released Hackenberg just three weeks later.
In college, Hackenberg completed 56.1 percent of his passes, throwing 48 touchdowns and 31 interceptions while averaging 6.8 yards per attempt.
The Patriots' current quarterback depth chart includes Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, and seventh-round draft pick Danny Etling out of LSU.
