What BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke has been doing in the Canadian Football League this season has been incredible. Rourke, just 24 and in his first year as a starter, leads the league with 3,281 passing yards (775 clear of second-place McLeod Bethel-Thompson), 25 touchdowns (seven clear of second-place Zach Collaros) against 10 interceptions, and a 79.8 per cent completion mark (9.4 percent clear of second-place Collaros, minimum 30 attempts). And that had him on pace to break several CFL records. But, sadly, a Lisfranc sprain Rourke sustained in his right foot during the Lions’ 28-10 win against the Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday is going to lead to surgery, as the team announced Sunday:
Nathan Rourke will undergo surgery for a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot. We are hopeful that rehab will leave the door open for a late-season return. Speedy recovery, Nathan 🙏#RallyForNathan
Full Statement 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/UnpdTFp2bP
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 21, 2022
It’s highly unfortunate to see that, as Rourke (seen above against the Edmonton Elks earlier this month) has been putting up some of the best quarterback play ever seen in the CFL. He already gave one performance with the third-highest completion percentage in league history (and with far more attempts than the first- or second-place games). And through nine games of the 18-game regular season, he was on pace to set league records for touchdowns (the record is 48, set by Doug Flutie in 1994) and completion percentage (77.23 per cent, minimum 250 attempts, set by Ricky Ray in 2013) and close to the pace for yards (6,619, set by Flutie in 1991).
Sadly, Rourke’s injury is going to knock him out of the running for those yards and touchdowns totals. However, his 313 attempts so far are enough to qualify for that completion percentage record even if he doesn’t throw another pass this season. And the timeline here of an open door for a late-season or playoff return is certainly good news for BC fans.
The Lions are second in the league (and in the West Division) with a 8-1 mark to date (behind only the 9-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers), so they’re in strong playoff position right now. (The first three West Division teams automatically qualify for the playoffs, and a fourth can make it if they finish ahead of the East Division’s third-place team.) We’ll see how they do without Rourke.
[CFL.ca]
