Patriots draft quarterback, adding more competition for Nathan Rourke

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Nathan Rourke’s path to playing time with the New England Patriots became more crowded Friday night.

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The Patriots did the expected and used the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft on a quarterback, selecting University of North Carolina pivot Drake Maye. He becomes the fourth quarterback on the New England depth chart, joining Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappe and Rourke, the former B.C. Lions passer who was born in Victoria and raised in Oakville, Ont.

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Rourke, 25, was claimed off waivers by New England on Dec. 18 in the midst of the Jacksonville Jaguars trying to move him from the active roster to the practice roster. He had signed with Jacksonville as a free agent in January 2023.

He didn’t take a snap in a regular season game with either New England or Jacksonville.

Rourke re-signed with New England last month as an exclusive rights free agent.

Maye, 21, was a two-year starter at UNC. Brissett, 31, is an eight-year NFL veteran who signed with the Patriots as a free agent last month, and team brass have talked openly that he could serve as a bridge starter.

“We feel like if we end up drafting a quarterback high, he is someone who can support that player and would be a positive influence on them while competing with them,” Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said of Brissett earlier this week.

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Zappe finished last season as New England’s starter. Mac Jones, who began the campaign as the starter, was traded in the off-season, oddly enough going to Jacksonville.

New England struggled last season, finishing 4-13. The Patriots mutually agreed to part ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick immediately after the season and quickly installed Jerod Mayo as bench boss.

Rourke was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022 despite missing nearly half the Lions’ season after suffering a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot in the waning moments of an Aug. 19 win in Saskatchewan. B.C. was 8-1 at the time of his injury and Rourke had been named one of the league’s top three performers in six of those nine weeks. He returned for the regular season finale and then guided the team to a win in the West semifinals before B.C. fell to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final. 

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Even with his time on the sidelines, Rourke finished second in the CFL in touchdown passes (25) and sixth in passing yardage (3,349).

Rick Campbell, who’s the Lions’ head coach and co-general manager, told 3DownNation last month “I don’t expect Nathan back.”

“Just having worked with him and what he’s like, I think the more he’s down there, the longer he’s around, he’s gonna stay. I would guess Nathan will be super happy if he comes back to the CFL, either way he’s going to be happy, but the mindset is that he’s gonna be down there for a while,” Campbell said. 

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