Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke draws attention in the Canadian Football League unlike anyone else, according to B.C. Lions’ co-general manager Neil McEvoy.
“This is a guy that when he was with us in the past, moved the needle in every market, which is something that we have not had as a league. It’s good for us, it’s good for the league, it’s good for Canada,” McEvoy said.
“This just isn’t any regular player that we’re signing, this is someone who has lots of pedigree within our league and our country. If we were 10-1 or whatever our record would have been — Nathan has always been an integral part and someone that we’ve always liked.”
Television ratings, ticket sales, and website traffic were up for the Leos and the three-down league during his 10 regular-season starts in 2022. The Victoria, B.C. native was on pace to set records for passing yards and passing touchdowns when he suffered a Linsfranc injury at the midway point of the season.
His performance during his sophomore season in the CFL led to heavy interest from NFL teams, parlaying a lengthy workout tour into a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The six-foot-one, 210-pound QB dressed for three games with the Jags last season and three with the New England Patriots, earning $519,668 USD. He had an offseason stint with the New York Giants, who released him one week into training camp, as well as the Atlanta Falcons, who let him go after one preseason quarter with next to no practice reps.
“Does he have the ability to play down south? I think he does. He wasn’t getting the type of love he wanted from the other league. Good for us and unfortunate for them,” McEvoy said. “We’re lucky knowing that if got the opportunity that he probably deserved, things might have gone differently. We remained in constant contact with him. He wanted to come home.”
Rourke wants to be back in game action as quickly as possible. He knows the playbook as Canadian offensive coordinator Jordan Maysymic is still calling plays for the B.C. Lions. That familiarity could allow him to start in Week 11 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“Knowing Nathan Rourke, I think he’ll be playing Sunday. We want to make sure he’s properly ready to go with the playbook and all those things, if all those boxes are checked, then he’ll be the guy on Sunday,” head coach Rick Campbell said.
“Barring something happening, I would say he plays. Nathan will take all the starter reps. Nathan was signed to play. Knowing him, I would say that he will be ready to go.”
The 26-year-old touches down in Vancouver on Wednesday and will look to resume his star status in the CFL. The Lions paid up to bring him back north of the border.
B.C. (5-4) hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-6) on Sunday, Aug. 18 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
