On Monday, the New England Patriots claimed quarterback Nathan Rourke off waivers. Rourke had been called up to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ active roster on Dec. 9 as insurance with Trevor Lawrence dealing with an ankle injury, but was waived this weekend with the intention of returning him to the practice squad (as previously happened in October and August). But both the Patriots and the Houston Texans put in waiver claims on Rourke, with the Patriots winning out thanks to a higher waiver priority.
On Wednesday, New England head coach Bill Belichick spoke about why they decided to pick up Rourke. As per Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald, Belichick cited a need for quarterback depth after the Baltimore Ravens signed Malik Cunningham off the Patriots’ practice squad last week and the Chargers signed Will Grier off that practice squad Monday. But Belichick said Rourke was the right particular target for them given what he’d accomplished in preseason play and in the CFL:
“Just the depth at that position,” Belichick said Wednesday when asked why the Patriots wanted to work with Rourke. “So, when you only have two quarterbacks on the roster, guy sprains his ankle, you’re down to putting a receiver or running back or somebody at quarterback. But he was productive in preseason and Canada.”
Rourke played in all three preseason games for the Jaguars this year. He finished with 23 of 35 passes for 348 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, with that TD coming with a defender all over him:
It's not over until Nathan says it's over.@nathan_rourke | #JAXvsDAL on CBS pic.twitter.com/LGOpiBRvOw
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 12, 2023
That wasn’t enough for Rourke to make the active roster out of camp, but he was signed to the practice squad two days later. And he received callups to the Jaguars’ active roster in October and then earlier this month. Now, he may get an opportunity with the Patriots.
The 25-year-old Rourke is from Victoria, B.C., but grew up across the country in Oakville, Ontario. He played minor and high school football there, then finished his high school career with a senior year at Edgewood Academy in Elmore, Alabama. He then played a season at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, then went to play in the MAC for the Ohio Bobcats, where he put up 7,457 passing yards across three seasons.
Rourke was then taken 15th overall in the 2021 CFL Draft and shone for the B.C. Lions for two seasons, including setting a league mark for completion percentage in 2022 (78.7 percent). He hasn’t been able to establish himself as a NFL starter yet, but he’s certainly got people talking about him. And we’ll see how he fits in with the Patriots. The other QBs currently on their roster are Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
