Rourke NFL workouts: chooses Jacksonville

[Toppy Vann]

Hockey differs in the US college/univ route in that the NHL is both US and Canada.

In football, you're right that the full ride south is hard to turn down and you're still able to play in the league of your choice.

Baseball is now similar. This story on Rod Black's son mentions some 16 players from Canada down south.

He became a first round pick of Milwaukee in 2021 and is in the minor leagues as that is how it works.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball ... draft.html

Not sure of the stats but back in the day when local soccer players were heading south, I would advise players to look at how others fared down south IF their goal included a degree.

I saw too many average players or those who got hurt or who got there and found the full ride was more like they were taken for a ride. And of course, they were one injury away from no scholarship.

The elite athletes fared better than those whose parents paid someone to hype them only to find out when they arrived on campus on a full ride or near to that, they were just average players. They got the pressure from coaches and many weren't completing degrees.

The others were like John Catliff, a great player, but who went to Harvard like some others where their funding was based on their overall qualities (not hinged to soccer) and in part what they could afford to pay. In the mid 60s I helped such a player get a full ride offer he took at Harvard and while he got hurt and didn't play past first year, his money was full ride.

Rourkes (both of them) seem football first and they'll succeed in school and football due to that and how they manage priorities and decisions.

[Hambone]

Sitting in one of my regular Mazatlan bars yesterday and struck up a convo with the couple beside me. They had just arrived in town. Turned out they were from Jacksonville. Asked them if they were Jags fans. They do follow the Jags as their adopted team but as they are originally from northern California and only moved to FL 10 years ago they are diehard Raider fans. I told them about Rourke. They knew nothing about him or the signing but did make note of the name as somebody to keep an eye on. They were kind of distracted with cheering against archrival KC.

[Sir Purrcival]

Guess that didn't work out for them.

[Hambone]

Guess that didn't work out for them.

Lol. Nope. Much to their chagrin. Nice folks to talk to though.

[Toppy Vann]

Sitting in one of my regular Mazatlan bars yesterday and struck up a convo with the couple beside me. They had just arrived in town. Turned out they were from Jacksonville. Asked them if they were Jags fans. They do follow the Jags as their adopted team but as they are originally from northern California and only moved to FL 10 years ago they are diehard Raider fans. I told them about Rourke. They knew nothing about him or the signing but did make note of the name as somebody to keep an eye on. They were kind of distracted with cheering against archrival KC.

Sadly for some players, that's how some coaches approach their evaluation of the talent on tryouts or in TC.

On top of that is the need to make their draft picks work out.

Rourke and his brother are still popping up in the Rob Williams' Instagram pics/vids as have Trevor Harris and Nic Arbuckle and lots of QB and local QBs like the Okanagan Sun.

Williams is shifting QBs to a throwing style involving the hips more (like a golf swing) and not bringing the back leg forward on a follow through giving greater velocity like an archery shot. The arm isn't going straight forward but across the body and down to full force on the throw.

[SammyGreene]

Jags’ apparently in no rush to make Nathan #2 guy:

Jaguars announced they signed QB C.J. Beathard to a contract extension before he became a free agent.

[Hambone]

Jags’ apparently in no rush to make Nathan #2 guy:

Jaguars announced they signed QB C.J. Beathard to a contract extension before he became a free agent.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for Nathan. It just means they don't have to rush him into that role. They can let him develop at his own pace. If he overtakes Beathard the Jags will be quite happy.

When it gets down to it Rourke would have to be pretty dense to think the Jags would simply hand him the #2 job without having a veteran presence to compete with him for it. It wouldn't be a matter of if they brought someone in or back, just a matter of who. They happened to bring Beathard back. The 2 year deal means nothing as just like the CFL if they like Rourke's progress they can cut him after 1 year, maybe even sooner.

[OV:54-40]

Jags’ apparently in no rush to make Nathan #2 guy:

Jaguars announced they signed QB C.J. Beathard to a contract extension before he became a free agent.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for Nathan. It just means they don't have to rush him into that role. They can let him develop at his own pace. If he overtakes Beathard the Jags will be quite happy.

When it gets down to it Rourke would have to be pretty dense to think the Jags would simply hand him the #2 job without having a veteran presence to compete with him for it. It wouldn't be a matter of if they brought someone in or back, just a matter of who. They happened to bring Beathard back. The 2 year deal means nothing as just like the CFL if they like Rourke's progress they can cut him after 1 year, maybe even sooner.

Interesting; perhaps it means little to Nathan's chances in Jacksonville; he could easily beat out Beathard for #2 perhaps. OR - maybe young Nathan gets po'd at the situation (word was he did not want to go down there to be a #3 prospect), and would like to come back to the CFL to play, and sooner than later. There may well be other NFL teams that would be interested, but who knows (maybe a better suitor without an established and very good young starting QB should have stepped-up?)

He comes back to BC with a vengeance, and the Lions are able to deal one of Adams or Evans to a CFL desperate team (for some good value to help the Lions load-up for a GC run next year?)

[DanoT]

Beathard re-signing, I don't think is a surprise and at 29y.o. with Lawrence and Rourke I think both 25, Beathard is the vet in the room. Lawrence may have more starts but Beathard has been thru more training camps and QB meetings etc. Better for Rourke to be competing for #2 with Beathard than a young high draft pick.

[Hambone]

Jags’ apparently in no rush to make Nathan #2 guy:

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for Nathan. It just means they don't have to rush him into that role. They can let him develop at his own pace. If he overtakes Beathard the Jags will be quite happy.

When it gets down to it Rourke would have to be pretty dense to think the Jags would simply hand him the #2 job without having a veteran presence to compete with him for it. It wouldn't be a matter of if they brought someone in or back, just a matter of who. They happened to bring Beathard back. The 2 year deal means nothing as just like the CFL if they like Rourke's progress they can cut him after 1 year, maybe even sooner.

Interesting; perhaps it means little to Nathan's chances in Jacksonville; he could easily beat out Beathard for #2 perhaps. OR - maybe young Nathan gets po'd at the situation (word was he did not want to go down there to be a #3 prospect), and would like to come back to the CFL to play, and sooner than later. There may well be other NFL teams that would be interested, but who knows (maybe a better suitor without an established and very good young starting QB should have stepped-up?)

He comes back to BC with a vengeance, and the Lions are able to deal one of Adams or Evans to a CFL desperate team (for some good value to help the Lions load-up for a GC run next year?)

I suspect he didn't sign with the Jags thinking he wouldn't have to compete with an NFL vet to earn #2 and likely was made totally aware there would be experienced NFL vet(s), late picks or UDFAs coming to camp to compete with him. If the Jags didn't bring in competition he might have been the most surprised in the room. In the context of #2 vs #3 he always indicated he wanted a situation where he could compete for #2 as opposed to battling it out with others for a PR spot where #3 was the best case result. I don't think for a minute he expected an uncontested offer to be #2. He's not that dumb.

[Toppy Vann]

Hambone, that's makes sense.


When I think how poorly paid Rourke was, it's a stain on the CFL.

Just earning back some of that money will make it far better than toiling for what he was paid even though he'd have gotten more in the CFL than his prior deal or even what he's guaranteed to make with the Jags. You still have to make the team.

Rourke signed a standard rookie NFL deal that would carry annual salaries of $750,000 US, $915,000 and $1.030 million, if completed.

Contract Value: $2,700,000 ($900,000 APY)
Fully Guaranteed Money: $221,000
Contract Ranking: 84/100 at QB

https://overthecap.com/player/nathan-rourke/10822

Rourke's a smart person so he must have foreseen this move with just 13 passes versus what Rourke did in the CFL is not a bad gamble:

Jacksonville Jaguars keep QB room together, re-sign CJ Beathard

While Beathard has only attempted 13 passes for Jacksonville, his presence has been invaluable in their quarterback room.

Offensive coordinator Press Taylor has previously praised Beathard, noting that there’s not anything he cannot do“. Taylor came close to starting against the Tennesse Titans in Week 14 while Trevor Lawrence was recovering from a toe injury he suffered. At the time, Taylor said he had lots of belief in Beathard and added that the offense would’ve been fine if he had made the start in relief of Lawrence.

https://blackandteal.com/2023/02/24/jac ... -beathard/

All that said this analysis says nothing of Nathan Rourke:

The Jacksonville Jaguars will maintain the status quo at backup quarterback in 2023, signing backup quarterback C.J. Beathard to a two-year extension on Friday.

Beathard's deal will allow him to continue to serve as Trevor Lawrence's backup quarterback throughout most of his rookie deal, but what else does his signing mean for the Jaguars? We break it down below.

The lack of appealing options in free agency and draft likely played a big part in the decision to extend Beathard
The Jaguars did their part to evaluate the quarterback market before extending Beathard, and that is probably one of the biggest non-Lawrence reasons the Jaguars have retained the former third-rounder.

https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/duval-in ... j-beathard

[Hambone]

I was doing some reading on Jacksonville's offseason situation. Common observations were that they need to make a lot of upgrades on the defensive side of the ball where they were 29th ranked defense against the pass. Another common observation was that they are not in a good cap situation to be able to do that through free agency. Draft pundits had CB, S, DL, OL and TE as their draft priorities. The only one to mention QB was Walter Football who said they needed to sign a veteran backup QB if they don't re-sign Beathard. The comment about Beathard being good in the QB room should be taken as a positive for Rourke who has made it clear that it was the coaches etc he'd be working with to help his development as being the reason for choosing Jacksonville.

[David]

Without having perused any Jacksonville media, fan boards, or team site(s), I have no idea if people even recognize Nathan at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if his signing came with little fanfare (or indeed, a touch of skepticism) given his small body of professional QB experience but that really is the point. He put up such incredible stats in just a half-season as a fledgling CFL QB, had he only been injured for half the time he was, he was a shoo-in for Most Outstanding Player. A generational talent.


DH

[Toppy Vann]

Without having perused any Jacksonville media, fan boards, or team site(s), I have no idea if people even recognize Nathan at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if his signing came with little fanfare (or indeed, a touch of skepticism) given his small body of professional QB experience but that really is the point. He put up such incredible stats in just a half-season as a fledgling CFL QB, had he only been injured for half the time he was, he was a shoo-in for Most Outstanding Player. A generational talent.


DH

Googling doesn't turn up much other than announcing his signing with most of the stories mentioning his Lisfranc injury.

My sense is that fans in the US aren't CFL savvy.

This is the goal:

“There were teams that made some offers, but ultimately, the situation and the prospect of helping the team out and being able to compete for a number two job was best in Jacksonville,” Rourke told 3DownNation earlier in January. “Ultimately, we made the decision that we did because the goal is to be an NFL quarterback and an NFL starter, I think this is a good first step in that direction.”

This article mentions the coaching staff and QBs and of course Henry Burris who has to go south to get coaching work even though he lived in Canada during his many years playing in the CFL. He and Damon Allen should be coaching in the CFL. It blows my mind that guys like this are not coaching here.



This article reinforces for me that he's not made a bad decision. And the guaranteed money is $221K on that contract.

Sophomore Trevor Lawrence, the first player selected in the 2021 NFL draft, is firmly entrenched as Jacksonville's starting QB.

Lawrence and the Jaguars (3-14) struggled mightily in 2021 under former head coach Urban Meyer, but both improved immensely this season under head coach Doug Pederson.

Pederson has been credited a lot for Lawrence's improved play this year. A former NFL quarterback himself, Pederson won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

Former CFL quarterback Henry Burris is also an offensive quality control coach on Pederson's staff in Jacksonville.

Ironically, Burris had become an offensive consultant with the Lions in March of 2022 but left the CFL club less than two weeks later to join the Jaguars.

Behind Lawrence is C.J. Beathard, in his sixth NFL season, and second with Jacksonville.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nfl/article/ca ... h-jaguars/

Some might say, CJ Beathard in his sixth season could be Nathan Rourke 6 seasons later. But this QB comes with a talent set and work ethic and calm character that says he's a good bet to fulfill his goal of Backup within a year if not this upcoming season.

[Hambone]

I don't recall the talk at the time from Fish fans when Cam Wake signed in Miami Toppy but suspect what he'd already accomplished in the CFL barely caused a ripple in the water. That he came out of Linebacker U aka Penn State probably resonated more with them than the fact he was the reigning CFL MODP.

When a fanbase has a young QB like Trevor Lawrence to follow they could give a rat's behind about who they bring in as backups. The only time they care will be the first time the training staff goes out on the field to attend to Lawrence. Then they'll be scrambling for a roster list so they can see who the back up is. I was like that while following the Colts thru the Manning era. Half the time I didn't know who their backup was or cared and I've followed the Colts since the middle of Unitas' career.