Former Eagles QB Christian Hackenberg fails to impress in the AAF

The Eagles have said time and time again that Carson Wentz is their franchise quarterback, and with Nick Foles appearing to have one foot out the door, that leaves Nate Sudfeld as the No. 2 guy, and the only backup left in the quarterback room in 2019.

Heading into the 2018 season, the team had another former Big Ten QB on roster, Christian Hackenberg, but given his recent performance in the new AAF league, it doesn’t look like the Eagles will be eyeing his return this offseason. The starting quarterback for the Memphis Express was benched on Saturday against the Orlando Apollos, after going 8-for-14 for 88 yards and two interceptions in the first half.

Hackenberg was replaced by another NFL dud, Zach Mettenberger.

And based on head coach Mike Singletary’s quotes after the game, it would appear that Mettenberger will be their de facto starter from now on.

“The lift Zach gave the team last week, it was a great feeling,” Singletary said. “To see a young man go out and make plays and really change the momentum in the game. We just have to put a whole game together.”

It’s not a huge surprise that Hackenberg would struggle, even in a development league, given his short-lived NFL career. The best thing to come from the QB in Philadelphia was this amazing write-up, and newly minted “Hackenscale” by BGN’s Benajmin Solak. He ended up being among the many roster cuts heading into the Eagles’ regular season, and spent the year on the Bengals’ practice squad.

You’d have to assume the Eagles are one of the many teams paying attention to the AAF and potential talent grabs, and that also means seeing their former No. 2 — with Wentz out and Foles injured in the preseason — fail to impress.

With the Eagles needing to add a third quarterback to the roster once Foles ends up leaving, they probably won’t be looking at QBs past to fill the spot. Free agency doesn’t look entirely exciting either, but they could always draft a quarterback in a later round and work to develop him on the practice squad.