The New England Patriots claimed quarterback Nathan Rourke of Victoria, British Columbia off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars according to Noah Strang of dailyhive.com on Monday. Rourke did not see any action during his time with the Jaguars, and now joins a Patriots team that has struggled offensively for most of the season. On five occasions the Patriots have scored less than 10 points, and have been shutout twice.
Rourke spent two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the British Columbia Lions in 2021 and 2022. In 23 games, he completed 307 passes in 406 attempts for 4103 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Rourke also had 57 rushes for 415 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. In 2022, Rourke was the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian.
Since August, Rourke has been put on waivers by the Jaguars three times. The other occurrences came on August 28 and October 21. Jacksonville’s number one quarterback is Trevor Lawrence and their backup is C.J. Beathard.
The Patriots have only won three of 14 games in 2023, and have the second worst record in the NFL. Only the Carolina Panthers are worse at two wins and 12 losses. New England has also struggled mightily at home where they have only won one of eight games. New England’s only home win came on October 22, when they beat the Buffalo Bills 29-25.
