Raiders Lose Out, Esiason Goes to Jets : NFL: L.A. might be able to land Hebert with a four-year contract.

The Raiders still don’t know who their quarterback is going to be. But they learned Wednesday who it will not be--Boomer Esiason.

The Cincinnati Bengals traded Esiason to the New York Jets Wednesday for a third-round draft choice.

Sources in Cincinnati say the Raiders offered a middle-round pick for Esiason, but Raider director of football operations Steve Ortmayer insists his team’s negotiations never got that far.

So who does that leave for the Raiders?

Free-agent Bobby Hebert of the New Orleans Saints is a possibility. Others being considered are free agents Jim Harbaugh of the Chicago Bears and Jeff Hostetler of the New York Giants. The Raiders also would not rule out a trade.

Whether the Raiders can bring Hebert to Los Angeles may depend on what they are willing to offer. Hebert wants a four- or five-year guaranteed contract.

Hebert, 33, made that request to the Saints, who countered with a two-year non-guaranteed deal worth $6.2 million.

“We want Bobby back badly.” New Orleans General Manager Jim Finks said. “But we’re not interested in that kind of a contract (four years guaranteed) at all.

“The stumbling block is that his agent really thinks he can get a four-year, guaranteed contract somewhere. If he does, good luck to him. There would be no hard feelings. Just let us know so we can make other plans.”

The Raiders appeared to have the inside track for Esiason, 31, earlier in the week. So what happened?

“We had talked to a handful of teams,” Bengal General Manager Mike Brown said. “The teams that contacted us were slow to pick up on the matter. It dragged on and, as time went along, one team (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) said they had no interest. Another (presumably the Raiders) offered a middle-round pick.

“Eventually it picked up with the Jets, and this was the best proposal we had received.”

Cincinnati also will receive a second-rounder in 1994 if Esiason has a quarterback rating of 89.0 or higher in 1993.

The Jets earlier appeared to lose interest altogether in Esiason, but Reggie White never lost interest.

The Pro Bowl defensive end from the Philadelphia Eagles is a free agent currently being courted by the Jets, who have already signed free agents Ronnie Lott of the Raiders and Leonard Marshall of the New York Giants.

Asked what it would take to sign him, White thought a moment, and said, “In the back of your mind, it would be more attractive if Boomer Esiason were here.”

Esiason lost his job in Cincinnati to 24-year-old David Klingler, but he is not conceding anything to Nagle and O’Brien.

“Right now, in my mind, they didn’t trade for me and my salary to stand on the sidelines,” Esiason said. “You’ve got to go in and battle for the job. You don’t have to be a genius to know why they traded for me.”