Add the Kansas City Captain to the growing list of NFL clubs to consider the CFL’s star quarterback, Nathan Rourke.
Chiefs confirmed that they organized a fitness session for a 24-year-old Victorian on Monday. Kansas City (14-3) cemented its No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Rourke still has a year left on his contract with the Lions. On Monday, however, he was eligible to sign a futures contract with a club south of the border according to the league’s NFL window.
The captain – who said goodbye to the opening knockout round as they took the top spot of the AFC table – was the 10th NFL team Rourke has trained for this season. He visited the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday and has also had sessions with the LA Chargers, Las Vegas, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals.
And according to a source, Rourke will have additional NFL practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday with unspecified teams. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the two clubs have not officially revealed training details.
Superstar Patrick Mahomes is firmly entrenched as Kansas City’s starter but Chad Henne’s veteran reserve contract expires at the end of the season. Sophomore Shane Buechele was listed as the Captain’s No. 3 quarterback with rookie Chris Oladokun on the training team.
The abundance of NFL sessions devoted to Rourke is not surprising. After the Lions’ season, Rourke said the plan is to work for NFL officials and explore interest in the south.
“I’ve never had a real chance at the NFL level, not at quarterback,” Rourke said at the time. “And that’s always been something I’ve wanted to at least try for a very long time.
“I’m lucky to have the opportunity and see where that goes and understand that I have a lot of opportunities to still be here with the Lions. And so, for me, it’s really a win-win. profit.”
Rourke qualified for the NFL ’21 draft after a solid college career at Ohio but was not selected. He eventually signed with the Lions, which beat Rourke in the second round, placing 15th overall, in the 2021 CFL draft.
That tied Rourke to Ottawa’s Jesse Palmer for the top Canadian quarterback picked in the CFL draft. Palmer finished 15th in 2001 against the Montreal Alouettes.
Palmer spent four seasons with the New York Giants, who selected him in the fourth round, 125th place overall, in the ’01 NFL out of Florida draft. After a stint with the San Francisco 49ers (2005-’06) Palmer signed with Montreal on the training roster in September 2006 but retired before the ’07 season to pursue a career in broadcasting. played a regular game of the season against the CFL club.
Rourke made two CFL starts in his first season with BC as a back-up to veteran Mike Reilly before winning the league in a storm in 2022.
Rourke completed 255 of 324 passes (78.7% league-high) in 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions although his season was cut short by a Lisfranc sprain at the table. right leg. Rourke had led BC to a record 8-1 before the injury and still led the CFL in passing performance at 300 yards (six) en route to becoming the league’s top Canadian.
Rourke also had 304 yards of dash and seven touchdowns as BC (12-6) finished second in the West Division standings.
Rourke guided BC past the Calgary Stampeders 30-16 in the West Division semi-finals, completing 22/30 321-yard passes and two touchdowns. But the Lions’ season ended with a 28-20 defeat to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the grand finals.
In that game, Rourke completed a 20/37 pass from 300 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran twice in 20 yards.
Rourke began three years at Ohio University (2017-2019). Passing 7,457 yards long with 60 touches and 20 interceptions. He also dashed to 425 takes in 2,634 yards and 49 touchdowns while winning the Jon Cornish Trophy (2017-18) as the top Canadian player in the NCAA ratings.
Rourke set an overall record 25–14 as Ohio’s starter. He led the Bobcats to three consecutive wins (2017 Bahamas Bowl, 2018 Frisco Bowl and 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl).
