Given the capital spent to acquire Atlanta’s top 2 quarterbacks, it is highly unlikely that there would be any possibility of Rourke passing either player in the depth chart outside of an injury. Keeping Rourke would presumably cost a fair bit more than his $915,000 salary. Presumably, if the Falcons decided to keep Rourke on as their third-string quarterback they would likely move on from Taylor Heinicke. The combined cost of Rourke’s salary and Heinicke’s dead cap would be $4,235,000.
That figure at $4.235 million would essentially be what it would cost the Falcons to keep Nathan Rourke on as their third-string quarterback. Moving from Heinicke to Rourke at third string would save $0.3 million dollars for the team. Naturally, NFL teams tend to shy away from cutting players who have guaranteed payouts in their contracts in favor of players with question marks. Heineicke also brings with him familiarity with the team having been there last year. Atlanta does have a new head coach in Raheem Morris and an offensive coordinator this season in Zac Robinson so the vision for the team could have some changes.
Rourke’s contract does not indicate any serious commitment from the Falcons as it lacks a signing bonus or guarantees. However, Head Coach Raheem Morris spoke highly of him at their opening practice when he told the media “Rourke was very high on our list and somebody we wanted to see.”
Rourke’s c
eiling is unknown after he set a record for completion percentage in the CFL at 78.7% in 2022 with the BC Lions and racked up 3,349 yards over 10 just 10 games with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is still yet to throw a pass in an NFL regular season game so NFL teams will still see him as a player with a lot to prove.Rourke making the Falcons is a task in which the odds are not in his favor but signing there was the right move as it gives him a chance to put together more preseason tape. It’s possible for him to win the third-string position although it may not be likely. If he does not make the team he could have a great chance of getting picked up by another team if he can show NFL teams that last year’s preseason was no accident. In 2023 he had the 2nd best QBR among rookies in the preseason.
If Rourke impresses Atlanta enough to win the third-string quarterback position then perhaps they could find a trade partner to send Taylor Heinicke to another team to bring back some value. Last year we saw Joshua Dobbs be traded to Minnesota from Arizona with a 7th-round pick to move up to the 6th round as Minnesota needed quickly improve their depth at quarterback quickly following the injury to Kirk Cousins. The $4.53 million dollar price tag will be an obstacle in moving him as it’s far above what a quarterback in the third-string spot would typically make. Heinicke is currently set to have the 36th-highest average salary among quarterbacks this season.
Many CFL fans are
hoping to see Rourke playing meaningful football in the NFL or come back to the CFL. There will be a lot of hurdles for him to overcome to be throwing passes in the regular season but this signing keeps that journey alive.If the Falcons do choose to hang on and keep Rourke in the organization then in my opinion they would have one of the deepest quarterback rooms in the league. To many the third-string quarterback position has no meaning or value, but we’ve seen recently in the CFL the importance of it as Montreal’s third-string quarterback Davis Alexander led them to victory in each of the last 2 weeks.
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