The New England Patriots have claimed a former star quarterback from another league off waivers.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Patriots have claimed former CFL star Nathan Rourke off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. This comes after the Los Angeles Chargers signed signal-caller Will Grier off of the Pats’ practice squad.
As well, the Patriots had lost Malik Cunningham to the Baltimore Ravens last week. The former Louisville star spent a portion of the 2023 season on the Patriots’ practice squad, but the Ravens signed Cunningham last week.
Rourke had a breakout season for the CFL’s BC Lions in 2022, winning CFL Most Outstanding Canadian honors after leading his club to a surprise 12-6 record. Rourke landed with the Jaguars in January on a three-year deal.
The Victoria, British Columbia native was never going to realistically vie for meaningful playing time on the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence is arguably a top-10 quarterback in the game, and veteran journeyman C.J. Beathard is one of the league’s more reliable backups.
Rourke will be behind starter Bailey Zappe and 2021 first-rounder Mac Jones on New England’s depth chart. The latter opened the season as the starter but lost his starting job to Zappe amid a miserable and mistake-filled 2023 campaign.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
The Patriots are coming off a 27-17 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They’ll try to play spoiler on Sunday when they visit the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
