Christian Hackenberg Traded to Raiders for 7th-Round Pick in 2019 NFL Draft

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles announced Tuesday that the team traded quarterback Christian Hackenberg to the Oakland Raiders for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

The move came shortly after Hackenberg told reporters he felt like he was progressing nicely this offseason:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com provided more details on the move: 

Hackenberg, 23, never appeared in a regular-season game for the Jets after the team selected him at No. 51 overall in the 2016 draft. That was unlikely to change anytime soon, as New York has veteran Josh McCown, free-agent addition Teddy Bridgewater and 2018 first-round pick Sam Darnold.

In the short term, McCown and Bridgewater were ahead of him in the pecking order. In the long term (and perhaps as soon as this season), Darnold is expected to be the top dog in New York. So from the Jets' perspective, Tuesday's trade was inevitable. 

It perhaps isn't surprising from Oakland's perspective either, as new head coach Jon Gruden praised Hackenberg ahead of the 2016 draft, via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com: 

In that article, Gruden wrote:

"The biggest surprise to me on Hackenberg is that no one is really talking about him in the first round. This was the No. 1 prospect in the nation a few years ago and someone who showed during his freshman year he could produce at a high level in a true NFL-style offense. What he showed during that first year at Penn State—before the coaching change, before the system change, before all the things that derailed him—would be enough for me to take this guy early. This man can run a 4.7-second 40, he is tough as hell and he works relentlessly. He just has to get in the right system with the right people and refocus on the small details."

Obviously, Derek Carr is entrenched as the team's starter. But Hackenberg will have the opportunity to compete with Connor Cook and EJ Manuel as one of his backups.