Gruden thinks CBA is to blame for failed Hackenberg project

It's not Jon Gruden's fault Christian Hackenberg couldn't develop into an NFL quarterback.

Just three weeks after acquiring him from the New York Jets, Gruden and the Oakland Raiders decided to release Hackenberg, the 2016 second-round pick who has yet to play an NFL down. Hackenberg has developed a reputation of being a wasted pick based on what the media has portrayed from his work at practice. Now, entering his third season in the league, the quarterback's problems are near-impossible to fix due to the collective bargaining agreement, according to Gruden.

"Everybody is an expert out there on Hackenberg and thinks he can't play," Gruden, who is supposed to be a quarterback specialist, told ESPN's Mike Sando. "It's unfortunate, this whole collective (bargaining agreement). How do you develop a quarterback? I don't know how you do it."

The Raiders bench boss is frustrated with the fact the 2011 CBA, which was agreed to three years after Gruden's previous coaching stint, limits the frequency and intensity of offseason practices. Gruden believes Hackenberg was improving in his short time with Oakland, but ultimately cut the project short once he felt there was not going to be enough reps to properly develop the 23-year-old.

"(Hackenberg) has been working on changing his stroke, his passing motion, and I think he did that," Gruden said. "We just didn't have enough reps to take a good look at him. Since we were further along the road with some of our other guys, we didn't have the space.

"It is hard enough to get (third-string quarterback) Connor Cook enough reps, let alone a fourth guy."

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From the NFLPA's standpoint, the 2011 CBA is far too beneficial toward teams and owners than it is to players. On the other hand, Gruden has had several complaints that the rules are too easy on the players.