The Jacksonville Jaguars announced they have signed quarterback Nathan Rourke from the practice squad to the active roster on Wednesday. This comes after star quarterback Trevor Lawrence injured his knee in last Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Nathan Rourke is six foot one and weighs 210 pounds. The 25-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, completed 23 of 35 passes (65.7%) for 348 yards, one touchdown, and 14 carries for 39 yards in three preseason games for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Rourke took the NFL by storm in a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys when he avoided getting sacked before throwing a touchdown.
In the 2022 season, Rourke completed 255 of 324 passes (78.7%) for 3,349 yards, 25 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 39 carries for 304 yards, and seven touchdowns in ten games. He missed part of the season due to a foot injury on August 19th.
Rourke returned on October 28th and led the Lions to defeat the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Semi-Final before the Lions lost in the Western Final to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Lions drafted Rourke in the second round (15th pick) in the 2020 CFL Draft. Rourke played two seasons completing 307 of 406 passes (75.6%) for 4,103 yards, 28 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 57 carries for 415 yards, and 12 touchdowns in 23 games.
Collegiately, Rourke played one season at Fort Scott Community College completing 221 of 378 (58.5%) passes for 2,367 yards, 18 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 118 carries for 27 yards, and three touchdowns in 11 games.
Then, Rourke transferred to Ohio for three seasons (2017-19) with 525 of 894 (58.7%) passes for 7,457 yards, 60 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 425 carries for 2,639 yards, and 49 touchdowns in 39 games. He is a two-time All-MAC Second-Team (2017,2018).
The Jaguars play the New Orleans Saints this Thursday at 8:15 pm on Prime Video and TSN 1 in Canada.