Bill Belichick is a man of few words but he uttered a handful on Wednesday morning regarding why his team claimed Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this week.
“He’s productive,” Belichick told the media in Foxborough. “Preseason. Canada.”
It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement from the veteran head coach, though Belichick isn’t known to hand out compliments easily. At the very least, the 71-year-old is clearly aware of what Rourke put on film with Jacksonville back in the summertime.
The native of Victoria, B.C. completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 348 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions during preseason action with the Jaguars. He also carried the ball 14 times for 39 yards and one touchdown.
Rourke also lit up the CFL in 2022 despite missing almost half the season with a Lisfranc injury. The 25-year-old threw for 3,349 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions and rushed for 304 yards and seven touchdowns with the B.C. Lions to be named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian.
The other reason New England claimed Rourke is their desperate need for depth under centre for their final three games of the regular season.
“We only have two quarterbacks on the roster,” said Belichick. “If a guy sprains his ankle, you’re down to putting a receiver or running back or somebody at quarterback.”
The Pats recently pivoted away from 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones, who went 2-9 as a starter this season with a negative touchdown-to-interception ratio. Bailey Zappe, who was selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft out of Western Kentucky, has gone 1-2 as a starter in his place, throwing four touchdown passes and four interceptions.
New England has tried and failed to develop other young quarterbacks this season, none of whom are still with the club.
Malik Cunningham, who joined the Patriots at the end of April as an undrafted free agent out of Louisville, recently left the team’s practice roster to sign with the Baltimore Ravens. New England also added former Carolina Panthers’ third-round pick Matt Corral after training camp, though he lasted only three weeks in Foxborough prior to being cut.
Four-year veteran Trace McSorley was released by the team at the conclusion of training camp and is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ian Book, who was once on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ negotiation list, was also briefly on New England’s practice roster in September but was released and remains a free agent. It’s unclear if Book’s exclusive CFL rights still belong to Winnipeg.
It remains unclear if Rourke will get a chance under centre before the season is out in New England, though the team has nothing to play for as they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien made it clear that the first step to playing in a game is impressing in practice, so that appears to be Rourke’s first goal in New England.
The Patriots (3-11) are scheduled to visit the Denver Broncos (7-7) on Sunday, Dec. 24 with kickoff slated for 8:15 p.m. EST.
