Patriots Reportedly Add New Quarterback Through Waiver Claim

The Patriots have a new third-string quarterback.

Hours after the Los Angeles Chargers signed Will Grier off New England’s practice squad on Monday, the Patriots claimed former Canadian Football League star Nathan Rourke off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

An Ontario native, Rourke was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian during the 2022 season, completing 78.7% of his passes with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the BC Lions.

That stellar season earned Rourke, who played his college ball at Ohio, workouts with a dozen NFL teams and a contract with the Jaguars. The 25-year-old delivered one of the standout plays of the 2023 NFL preseason when he threw this insane touchdown pass against the Dallas Cowboys:

Jacksonville released Rourke during final roster cuts, and he spent the first 15 weeks of this season bouncing between the Jaguars’ practice squad and active roster. He dressed for multiple games as the emergency third quarterback but has yet to play his first regular-season NFL snap.

Rourke will serve as the QB3 in New England behind Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones. He’s the sixth quarterback to spend time on the Patriots’ roster this season, joining Zappe, Jones, Grier, Malik Cunningham and Matt Corral. The Patriots also briefly had Ian Book on their practice squad in September.

Cunningham left New England’s practice squad last week to sign with the Baltimore Ravens. Grier did the same Monday to join the Chargers, who will be without injured starter Justin Herbert for the rest of the season.

Unlike with practice squad signings, which require a team to roster a player for at least three weeks, there are no NFL rules governing how long the Patriots must carry Rourke on their 53-man roster.

New England is scheduled to visit the Denver Broncos this Sunday night.