Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke coming back north of the border has been noticed by head coaches around the CFL.
“From a league standpoint anytime a good quarterback enters our league or re-enters our league that’s good,” Mike O’Shea said. “I know he’s a good quarterback, they didn’t sign him not to play him. He’s been in the system, he knows what to do, he’s a smart guy. He can learn whatever new parts of the playbook are there for him to learn, you don’t sign a guy like that not to play him.”
“Tremendous player, I think everybody in the country knows that,” Corey Mace said. “Being a Canadian and being a CFL guy, I think it’s excellent for the league. I’m happy if Nathan’s happy and it’s only going to draw more eyes to the CFL. I wish him really all the best except for when we play.”
“B.C.’s been playing at a high level with their quarterback play all year, Vernon’s been doing a tremendous job,” Jason Maas said. “When you have two guys that are capable of playing at an MOP level it bodes well for their team, but also I think it’s great for the league. I think it’s a great thing ultimately for our league to have Nathan back.”
“Really, really good player, great for the CFL,” Scott Milanovich said. “Great for the B.C. Lions especially with Vernon being injured, there’s nothing negative about that.”
Rourke signed a lucrative three-year contract which has money in the final two years not seen in the CFL in quite some time. He’s scheduled to earn $749,200 in hard money in 2025 and $809,000 in hard money in 2026. There are $6,000 in award incentives available in both seasons, taking his earning potential to $755,200 and $815,000 respectively each year.
The Victoria, B.C. native started 10 games in 2022 when he threw for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He ran 39 times for 304 yards and seven majors.
The dual-threat QB set the record for best single-season completion percentage in CFL history at 78.7 percent. The last time Rourke played in a full regular season game, he set the record for most passing yards in a game by a Canadian with 488.
Rourke takes aim at leading the Lions to become the first team to win the Grey Cup on home turf since the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2013. The B.C. Lions (5-4) host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-6) on Sunday, Aug. 18 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.