Will Christian Hackenberg see any playing time with Jets?

As the New York Jets made a big change at quarterback, does it mean that Christian Hackenberg might get a shot to start at some point this season? Don’t bet on it.

The New York Jets are entering their Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens with a new starting quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been benched for Geno Smith with the hope that he could bring a spark on a struggling offense.

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It will be very interesting to see how Smith performs as a starter once again. On one side, he’ll be playing with some much better talent around him but on the other, he could very well continue being a turnover-prone quarterback. All fans can do is hope that he can muster some kind of traction on an offense that can’t seem to put points on the scoreboard.

One can only imagine that Smith probably has a few weeks of guaranteed starts that hinder on how he does under center. If he comes in and starts throwing touchdowns, he could very well start from here on out until the end of the season.

If Smith starts to play like he used to, making erratic decisions on the football field and producing turnovers, he’ll more than likely be benched yet again in his career. Quarterback Bryce Petty is still nursing a shoulder injury and should be good to go in another week or two.

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Now, when it comes to quarterback Christian Hackenberg, make no mistake about it, he won’t be starting anytime soon for the Jets.

It would have to take a severe decline of play and/or injuries to both Smith and Petty for the Jets to dare consider throwing him to the wolves too soon.

Hackenberg is a developmental player that is easily two to three years away from even being remotely ready. He’s raw and has a long way to go before he’s ready to even compete for such a role.

Hackenberg has the skill-set but again, needs a ton of work, patience, and development to be ready for the next level.

Even head coach Todd Bowles said, via the Media Relations Department, that Hackenberg isn’t even ready yet to due to not even getting enough reps in practice. Here is what Bowles had to say:

On reason Hackenberg is not ready yet…

You’ve got to get reps to get ready. He’s a rookie quarterback and he’s got three in front of him. He’s not going to get enough reps to be ready to throw in there like that. He’s getting plenty of scout team reps. He’s learning poise in the pocket and is getting experience that way.

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If the Jets consider Hackenberg as a possible franchise quarterback, it’s important to develop him the right way. The Jets should hold off on starting him this season. With others as viable options to start, there is really no reason to risk injury or hurt his confidence. Especially if playing in garbage time or in a losing season when he’s not even ready to do so.