The Jacksonville Jaguars have waived Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke, bringing an end to his one-game stint on the 53-man roster.
Rourke was signed to the active roster this week due to injury concerns regarding starter Trevor Lawrence ahead of the team’s 31-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Lawrence was ultimately able to start the game, going 20-of-29 for 204 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 59 yards. Rourke was inactive for the game but was still dressed under the NFL’s emergency third quarterback rule.
The Jaguars opted not to use a temporary roster elevation on Rourke in order to take advantage of that emergency quarterback rule. That means that the 25-year-old will need to clear waivers before being returned to the team’s practice roster and can now be claimed by any other NFL franchise.
Rourke spent the first six weeks of the NFL season on the practice roster after being waived by the Jaguars following training camp. During the preseason, he completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 348 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions and rushed 14 times for 39 yards and one touchdown.
The native of Victoria, B.C. threw for 3,349 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions and rushed for 304 yards and seven touchdowns over 10 games with the B.C. Lions in 2022. He was the first quarterback to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian since 1980 and helped the Lions reach the West Final despite playing with a lingering foot injury.
The Jaguars (5-2) return to action on Sunday, October 29 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
