Nathan Rourke ended his two-year foray into the NFL on Tuesday when he signed a lucrative three-year contract with the B.C. Lions, the team with which he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022. The move came only one day after he cleared waivers following his release from the Atlanta Falcons, a decision he made after believing he no longer had an opportunity to move up an NFL depth chart.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to be in a situation where I felt like I could move up (a depth chart) and there’s so few opportunities in the league. I think in ’23, we look back on that as a success. I moved up, I was able to go to a team and into a position where I was the second guy. That was an improvement from the beginning of the year,” Rourke told the media in Vancouver on Wednesday.
“As soon as ’24 moved around, I was in some tough situations with some coaching changes and moving around, never really got settled and, at that point, realizing that I was missing some reps and missing some opportunities and felt like that might be a good time to start considering other options.”
“I’ve been frustrated the last six months or even a year and a half and I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not the game’s fault, it’s the situation. I still love the game very much and it’s a lot more fun when you’re able to participate in it.”
The native of Victoria, B.C. signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2022 season believing he would have the opportunity to compete with C.J. Beathard for the backup job behind former first overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence. Once training camp started, head coach Doug Pederson told the media that wasn’t the case — Lawrence was the starter and Beathard was the backup. In his eyes, Rourke was merely there to be the third-stringer.
Rourke outplayed Beathard during the preseason, throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Qadree Ollison that went viral on social media. He was relegated to the practice roster despite his strong play but was called up for three games before the New England Patriots claimed him off waivers on Dec. 18. He dressed for three games and was the team’s primary backup for their regular season finale.
The 26-year-old doesn’t regret his decision to try the NFL, even if his initial shot in Jacksonville wasn’t what he originally envisioned.
“The only choice that I made was going to Jacksonville — everything else was out of my control and even that choice, I don’t regret that,” he said. “I felt like I made the best decision for myself at the time. Obviously, looking back, it was not what I thought it was going to be in terms of an opportunity or a competition but that’s the nature of the league, that’s the nature of this profession.”
Rourke was waived by the Patriots after they selected two quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including University of North Carolina product Drake Maye with the third overall pick. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants in May before being waived on July 28 and signing with the Atlanta Falcons three days later.
The six-foot-one, 210-pound passer called his brief tenure with the Falcons a “tough situation” given how little time he had to learn the playbook. He completed three-of-13 pass attempts for 37 yards and ran twice for 24 yards in the club’s preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 9 and was cut the next day. Rourke’s decision to come back north came quickly after he cleared waivers on Monday.
“I felt like going to another (NFL) team would be a hard ask and maybe not the best use of my time,” he said. “After that point, just the suddenness of that felt like it was maybe best to start exploring other options if the NFL thing didn’t work out.”
Rourke has joined a Lions team riding a three-game losing skid, sitting second in the West Division at 5-4. Vernon Adams Jr. is out with a knee injury he suffered against Winnipeg on Aug. 1 and is considered week-to-week.
The two quarterbacks spent the latter half of the 2022 season together when Adams was acquired via trade to fill in for Rourke, who suffered a Lisfranc injury at the midway point of the year. Adams went 4-2 after Michael O’Connor and Antonio Pipken were given one-off starts but Rourke returned for the postseason despite clearly not being back to 100 percent. The Lions won the West Semi-Final over Calgary but were eliminated by the Blue Bombers in the West Final the following week.
Though the value of their respective contracts make it clear B.C. won’t be able to retain both following the conclusion of this season, head coach Rick Campbell has already said the Lions won’t trade Adams, presumably referring only to 2024. The two passers appear to have a strong working relationship, sharing the common goal of winning a Grey Cup on home soil later this year.
“I’ve got the most amount of respect for VA, he’s such a pro ever since I’ve known him. When he came in for me at the end of ’22, he was a pro. Everything he’s done up until this point, he has been a pro about it and he’s the type of a leader and type of person that I aspire to be in the locker room. He’s been great, I think the timing is good in terms of him not being 100 percent. We need him for this playoff run that we’re hopefully about to go on. We’re gonna need everyone healthy and he’s no exception,” said Rourke.
“We had a conversation this morning in the quarterback room and it’s just like it’s always been. (Offensive coordinator) Jordan (Maksymic) said, ‘The best rooms are always ones that are cooperative and everyone supports each other.’ That’s just part about being a professional that’s important is treating someone the way you want to be treated and VA’s done that and beyond. I have no doubt he’ll continue to do that and I’d do the same for him.”
The B.C. Lions (5-4) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-6) on Sunday, Aug. 18 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
