B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke has finally jumped on the social media bandwagon and he used it to have some fun with CFL fans on New Year’s Eve.
The Canadian signal caller, who famously deleted social media during each of his college seasons, took to his lightly-used Twitter account shortly before the ball dropped on the West Coast to share a cryptic message with his followers: “Big time announcement about my future coming tomorrow!”
The tweet generated plenty of traction overnight, as fans speculated about whether Rourke was going to announce his eventual NFL destination, recommit to the CFL for another season, or simply jump on board the NFT craze. Instead, Rourke followed up his tweet with a response on Sunday morning, linking to an Instagram post and revealing the real reason behind the message.
“I got engaged! What were you all thinking I meant?”
View this post on Instagram
The light-hearted tease was well-received, though it will not be long before Rourke actually has some career-based news to share. A decision on his NFL future is expected early in 2023, with teams allowed to begin signing CFL players to reserve/futures contracts on January 9.
Rourke has worked out for eight NFL teams thus far, including the Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, and Los Angeles Chargers. He may participate in a handful of other workouts in January, though has reportedly already fielded offers from several franchises.
The 24-year-old is coming off a sensational season in the CFL during which he completed 78.7 percent of his pass attempts for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran the football 39 times for 304 yards and seven scores, becoming the first quarterback to win the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian award since 1980.
Rourke went 8-1 as a starter before undergoing surgery in August to repair a Lisfranc sprain in his foot. Though the injury was originally thought to be season-ending, he was able to return for the final week of the regular season and play the first quarter of a meaningless contest against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He started the West Semi-Final the following week and threw for 321 yards with two touchdowns in a 30-16 victory over the Calgary Stampeders. He and his team were eliminated from postseason contention against Winnipeg the following week after he threw for 300 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 28-20 loss in the West Final.
The six-foot-two, 209-pound passer was a three-year starter at Ohio University from 2017-2019 where he threw for 7,457 yards with 60 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He also recorded 425 carries for 2,634 yards and 49 scores along the ground but received a small amount of NFL interest coming out of the NCAA.
Rourke has one year remaining on his rookie deal with the Lions, who drafted him 15th overall in the second round of the 2020 CFL Draft. However, he is able to leave early thanks to the league’s NFL window, taking a shot south of the border where his career earning potential is astronomically higher.
Before making that choice, Rourke had a much more important decision to make in his home life. 3DownNation would like to congratulate him and Emily Dotzlaw on their engagement and impending nuptials. You know where to send the invite!
