PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles released quarterback Christian Hackenberg on Friday, a source confirmed to ESPN, as NFL teams trim their rosters to 53 players prior to Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
Philadelphia boasts one of the best quarterback situations in football with Carson Wentz, Nick Foles and Nate Sudfeld holding down the top three spots, so the chances of Hackenberg making the team were slim. The Eagles brought Hackenberg into camp in the second week of August to get an up-close look at him.
He made his preseason finale Thursday against his former team, the New York Jets, going 7-of-16 for 69 yards with two interceptions. He also was charged with a lost fumble, and he rushed for 66 yards on five carries.
“Overall evaluation, there’s a couple plays, obviously, that I would love to have back,” Hackenberg said after the game, “but there’s some things that I did good. I thought I placed the ball pretty well for the most part, so just continuing to build off that, off the wins, build off the little things that I thought went well and learn from the things that didn’t.”
NJ.com was first to report the move.
Hackenberg does have remaining practice squad eligibility, should the Eagles or another team decide to go that route.
A former second-round pick out of Penn State, Hackenberg was unable to beat out his competition in two seasons with the Jets. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders in May for a conditional seventh-round pick. The Raiders waived him in June, however, negating the trade.
Hackenberg, 23, had an uneven career at Penn State. He threw 20 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions during his freshman year but saw a decrease in completion percentage and TD throws over the next two seasons.
Source : ESPN
