The BC Lions announced they have signed Nathan Rourke on Tuesday bringing him back to the club. Rourke was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022 when he last played with the BC Lions before he went south to try his hand at the NFL. With quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. being week to week with a knee injury and BC on a 3-game losing slide, the timing of this signing could not be any better for Lions’ fans and Nathan Rourke.

“From talking to Nathan, I know how excited he is to be back with the Lions and to get going.” BC Lions Head Coach Rick Campbell said. “For this to happen, it also had to include Vernon Adams Jr. being here. Vernon will not be traded and is too good a player, too valuable a leader, and a huge part of our team.”

CFL fans have been keeping a close eye on Rourke since his breakout season in 2022 which saw him set a CFL record in completion percentage in a season at 78.7%. He started in 10 games that season as he had to miss time due to injury. In 2022 he passed for 3,349 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

Rourke was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons who released him on Sunday which was 10 days after he was signed with the team. Rourke played in 1 preseason game with the team in which he did not replicate the magic that he showed in the 2023 NFL preseason. He completed just 3 of his 13 passes for 37 yards and added 24 rushing yards on 2 rushes last Friday against the Miami Dolphins.

Rourke made his NFL debut in the 2023 preseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars and went on to have a 107.8 quarterback rating which was 2nd among NFL rookies. He completed 23 of his 35 passes for 348 yards and a touchdown over the 3 preseason games with Jacksonville and rushed for 39 yards.

He spent much of the season on Jacksonville’s practice squad in 2023 until he was waived in mid-December and claimed by the New England Patriots. The Patriots waived him this past May and he was acquired by the New York Giants on waivers. The Giants waived Rourke on July 28 and he went unclaimed on waivers. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons on August 1 and has now been waived this past Sunday, August 10.

Rourke began his CFL career with BC in 2021 where he primarily learned under Michael Riley although he did have 2 starts. He played his college ball for the Ohio Bobcats where he completed 58.7% of his passes for 7,740 yards and 60 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. He finished 2nd in passing yards and touchdowns in the school’s history.

With Vernon Adams Jr. being out on a week-to-week basis BC fans will hope that Rourke will be able to pick up where he left and match his productivity in 2022. It could take a moment for Rourke to get back into the swing of things. It has been nearly 2 years since Rourke was taking first-team reps. Additionally, BC had the lowest-graded offensive line in Pro Football Focus’s most recent CFL offensive line rankings. Rourke does have the skill set to play well under pressure as was seen by Vernon Adams Jr. for much of the season.

Rourke was not the only ex-CFL star released recently by the Atlanta Falcons. Wide receiver Austin Mack was also released by Atlanta and is another player to keep a close eye on. Mack had 1,154 yards and 4 touchdowns over last year’s CFL regular season. He added 185 yards and 2 touchdowns in the postseason which saw Montreal win the Grey Cup.

@JonathanClink on X