Nathan Rourke lasts less than two weeks with latest NFL team

Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke is once again looking for a new home in the NFL.

On August 1, the former BC Lions star Rourke had signed for the Atlanta Falcons, a little over a week before the team’s preseason opener.

But in a move that’s become all too familiar for the Victoria native, the Falcons announced Rourke’s departure on Sunday via their team website.

Rourke went 3-for-13 for 37 yards in a fourth quarter appearance against the Miami Dolphins on Friday in a 20-13 loss.

Having been cut loose by the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and now the Falcons over the last calendar year, Rourke has now gone through 12.5% of the NFL franchises without getting so much as a regular season snap.

In 2022, Rourke had a remarkable campaign for the Lions in his first year as a starter, throwing for 3,349 yards and 25 TDs in just 10 starts, winning the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian award along the way.

While Rourke might have a tough shot at getting game action in the NFL, he seems content to continue pushing at trying to crack down the door in multiple organizations to get a shot.

“Ultimately the answer here is, I wouldn’t not want to come back to the CFL. My experience there was super positive. If I do come back to the CFL, it would be because all NFL opportunities are closed, like there’s no more doors open there,” Rourke said in an Instagram video back in January.

“The NFL has always been the dream, to be able to play in the NFL and have success there, be a starter there. And until those possibilities are closed, at this point, that’s the only time I would return to the CFL.”

The NFL regular season is less than a month away, with the first game of the new campaign slated for September 5.

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