Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke has been claimed off waivers by the New York Giants, per sources.
Rourke worked out for the Giants as a QB in January 2023 during his extensive offseason NFL tour. While in May 2021, he was invited the G-Men rookie mini-camp as a receiver when Dave Gettleman was general manager and Joe Judge head coach.
Joe Schoen has the GM title in NYC now and Brian Daboll head coach. When Schoen earned his role, he brought in Mississauga native Chris Rossetti as the team’s director of pro scouting. Toronto native Kevin Abrams was named the senior vice-president of football operations and strategy upon Schoen’s arrival.
The 25-year-old was waived by the New England Patriots on Monday, which came after the team selected two quarterbacks in the recent NFL Draft: Drake Maye third overall and Joe Milton in round six. New England also signed veteran Jacoby Brissett in free agency, giving him $5 million in guarantees on a one-year contract.
The Giants didn’t select a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft and have only three other quarterbacks currently under contract: incumbent starter Daniel Jones, veteran journeyman Drew Lock, and second-year passer Tommy DeVito.
Rourke joined the Patriots on Dec. 18, 2023, after he was claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He dressed for the final three games of the season and was New England’s primary backup for the team’s regular season finale, though he didn’t see any game action. The six-foot-two, 209-pound passer earned $519,668 USD in his first NFL season.
The Oakville, Ont. native signed with the Jaguars last off-season after an extensive NFL workout tour. During three preseason games with Jacksonville, he completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 348 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions while running the ball 14 times for 39 yards and one touchdown. He was waived after training camp but landed on the team’s practice roster and was activated for three regular season games.
During the 2022 CFL season, Rourke completed 78.7 percent of his passes for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while starting for the B.C. Lions. He ran 39 times for 304 yards (7.8 per carry) and seven touchdowns during 10 regular season games, including nine starts. The Ohio University graduate was named the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian despite missing half the season with a Lisfranc injury.
