Former Jets quarterback benched in AAF game for second time in three weeks
Christian Hackenberg threw three picks and no touchdowns in three games.
Christian Hackenberg’s quest for redemption in the Alliance of American Football League is not going as planned.
The former New York Jets quarterback was benched in the fourth quarter of the Memphis Express’ inaugural game, a 26-0 defeat at the hands of the Birmingham Iron. Hackenberg completed 10 of his 23 passes against the Iron and finished with 87 yards and an interception.
Six quarters of football later, Hackenberg had thrown two more picks — plus another pass that flew behind even the defender — and had yet to fire for a touchdown. So, at halftime of Memphis’ 21-17 loss to the Orlando Apollos on Saturday, head coach Mike Singletary inserted former Tennesse Titans starter Zach Mettenberger in his place for the second half.
Christian Hackenberg update. #AAF pic.twitter.com/LfYkFsgEdG
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) February 24, 2019
Mettenberger completed nine of 12 passes for 120 yards and threw the first two touchdown passes in the history of the Express franchise. After the game, his first of the season, Mettenberger described it as “business as usual.”
“This is a professional sport you got be a professional,” he said, according to the New York Post. “You got to always be ready. Whether you’re the backup your one play a way or you’re the third string you’re two plays away. It’s something we’ve all been taught that from an early age.
“Just today coaches seemed fit for me to get an opportunity and I was able to do a couple of things out there, but I would’ve like to got the win.”
The Jets drafted Hackenberg with a second-round pick in 2016. New York traded him to the Oakland Raiders last offseason. On the day he was traded, he described working with a personal quarterbacks coach over the summer to fix his mechanics and could not explain why the change took so long to implement.
“That was the frustrating part for me, is the ups and downs and not knowing why — and not really getting any information from anybody on how to fix that and how to address it,” Hackenberg said at the time.
