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The Bengals are signing quarterback Christian Hackenberg to the practice squad, filling the final spot remaining there, per Mike Garafolo.
QB Christian Hackenberg is signing with the #Bengals practice squad, source says. He goes way back with Bill Lazor and has some experience with Jim Haslett, who was a consultant at Penn State in 2015.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 2, 2018
Hackenberg was the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Jets. He has completely failed to live up to that billing and has not played a regular season game.
The Jets traded Hackenberg to the Raiders for a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick, but Oakland ended up waiving him this spring. Hackenberg then went on to sign with the Eagles, where he spent this summer. Philadelphia cut him on Saturday.
Per Gang Green Nation, the reason he never saw a regular season snap with the Jets was that his preseason performances were some of the worst in recent NFL history. Hackenberg was given an opportunity to win the starting job in 2017, instead he played his way out of the number two job.
Hackenberg’s only preseason playing time was against the Jets in the finale on Thursday. Here’s what Bleeding Green Nation had to say about his performance:
Hack was predictably awful in his Eagles debut. He completed just seven of his 16 passing attempts for 69 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 16.9 passer rating. To his credit, Hack did try to make a case for himself in the fourth running back battle by rushing for 66 yards on five carries. But he even screwed that up with one really bad open field fumble. BGN’s Benjamin Solak had a fantastic breakdown on Hack’s night: THE HACKENSCALE.
Hackenberg has been a bust to this point, but he’ll attempt to develop further in Cincinnati under new quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.