Lionbackers.com

Dreams die hard.

The Lions wouldn't be looking and Neil McEvoy confirmed that and said they are always in touch with Nathan Rourke and he believes (I think I should say KNOWS) that he isn't giving up on his NFL dream anytime soon.

While Rourkes train with Rob Williams in North Van, these guys have little to no desire to make CFL careers.

I think one of the reasons Vernon Adams struggled in the East was coaching, his player maturity and always being looked at to be replaced. Now it's his team in BC and he hasn't had to look over his shoulder - just do his job and play.

https://theprovince.com/sports/football ... hasing-nfl

It is very likely that when Kurtis Rourke graduates or moves on from Indiana University he too won't be looking north to the CFL either.

These guys want to be in the NFL.

Kurtis advice from Nathan on moving to Indiana Univ. is how he thinks and it isn't the CFL.

"He's been great just giving me advice, shooting me straight," Kurtis Rourke said.

"He was kind of the guy who said, 'Whatever puts you in the best spot a couple of years from now go with that, trust it and give it 100 per cent.' I admire that and know that's what he's done in his life."

"Obviously I want to play at the next level (NFL) and the past year was statistically a down year so I knew I'd slipped a bit in the projections," Rourke said. "From people I talked to in my circle we agreed let's just put my name in and see if there's a great opportunity.

"If not, I could still fall back and try to go to (2024 NFL draft). In my eyes, it was win-win and I found a really good win here."

https://www.westernwheel.ca/indigenous/ ... ty-8163672

https://247sports.com/Player/kurtis-rou ... ineEvents/

TheLionKing wrote: Sun Jul 28, 2024 11:01 pm Dreams die hard.

And this realistically is his last chance to fulfill that dream.

viewtopic.php?t=30380&start=60

No interest by any NFL team. Rourke will have to count on an injury just to get picked up. Then his depth position means he better select a team wisely with no chance of a starter coming back or he ends up in his current position looking from outside at an NFL spot.

Rammer wrote: Mon Jul 29, 2024 3:44 pm viewtopic.php?t=30380&start=60

No interest by any NFL team. Rourke will have to count on an injury just to get picked up. Then his depth position means he better select a team wisely with no chance of a starter coming back or he ends up in his current position looking from outside at an NFL spot.

He's already getting a workout with Atlanta who I think also put in a waiver claim when NY claimed him. I kind of dismissed ATL when looking at their roster yesterday. They signed Kirk Cousins as a FA then drafted Penix. They also signed Heinicke as a FA along with another rookie QB. As deep as that might sound Rourke could actually fit as he could be an upgrade over the rookie signing while fixing what could be a dicey backup situation behind Cousins. They would have to carry both Penix and Heinicke on the 53 but might be looking at Rourke as an option to avoid that. I'm thinking they would never get away with stashing Penix on the PS. They'd lose him I'm a heartbeat. and Heinicke as a 9 year vet might reject a PS offer. Rourke however would happily accept a PS assignment.

I

n Atlanta, training camp began with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and quarterback Taylor Heinicke splitting the second-team reps. As soon as Tuesday, when the Falcons get back to work, that could change.

Heinicke knows it’s coming; he said Saturday night that he can “see the writing on the wall.” While some have interpreted that to mean he’s expecting to no longer be a Falcon, the more immediate reality is that he’s likely expecting to not be getting many second-team reps much longer.

Yes, they gave Kirk Cousins $90 million guaranteed over the next two years. But they can hold the total expense to $62.5 million, if he’s traded after the current season. If the Falcons pivot to Penix before 2025, that’s the likely outcome. (Yes, Cousins has a no-trade clause. His choices might be to waive it and play or flex it and sit.)

Watch the owner, Arthur Blank. If he wants Penix’s path to the starting job to be accelerated, those who work for Blank will have to decide whether to resist or relent.

Cousins is cleared to practice, but (we’re told) he’s still not 100 percent after tearing an Achilles tendon last season.

Is this what Hambone is getting at? They trade Heinicke after giving Rourke a good look?

Back to Heinicke. Why trade him?

After last year, it’s clear that there’s value in having three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The Falcons might need him at some point.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... in-atlanta

Owner press conference where he spoke of the Green Bay and succession to a new QB from Cousins who could go 3 to 4 years maybe.

https://www.atlantafalcons.com/video/ar ... ta-falcons

KIrk Cousins on his choosing Atlanta.

He didn't anticipate if he signed with Falcons that they'd draft a QB.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/566504 ... -penix-jr/


BUT we'll see if this Atlanta work out is they have/had or might have an interest in him as Arthur Blank says - the Falcons are independent thinkers.

Yes that's what I was alluding to Toppy. Cousins is #1. They drafted Penix in the 1st round. They signed Heinicke to a 2 year $14M deal last year. It shouldn't take them long to determine if Penix will be capable of being #2 behind Cousins. If he shows that then Heinicke becomes a very expensive 3rd string QB

Rourke should be able to push the other rookie 5'11 193# John Paddock (Illinois) aside while saving ATL a lot of cap space vs Heinicke. Heinicke is a $4.53M cap hit and unlikely to accept a PS spot meaning the Falcons would have to carry him on the 53 at full cap hit if they want to keep him. Rourke on the other hand would be a $945K cap hit if on the 53 but no doubt would be happy to take a PS spot. This year NFL teams no longer have to activate their 3rd QB to the 53 then pass him thru waivers to put him back on the PS. They can recall their emergency 3rd QB from the PS and reassign him there without having to waive him.

In essence Rourke isn’t going to see playing time and is a low cost insurance marker. Add into the equation Atlanta’s obvious willingness to spend freely on the QB position either by trade or draft. You have to think that this just buys Rourke a paycheck until next seasons eventual return to the CFL.

Rammer wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 2:57 pm In essence Rourke isn’t going to see playing time and is a low cost insurance marker. Add into the equation Atlanta’s obvious willingness to spend freely on the QB position either by trade or draft. You have to think that this just buys Rourke a paycheck until next seasons eventual return to the CFL.

True but as 3rd string he'd be one hit away from being #2 and 2 hits away from starting. Case in point Tommy Devito last year. He started the season as a raw rookie expected to spend the season on the PS being developed for the future. 5 games in Jones suffers a neck injury and Trevino's suiting up as backup to Tyrod Taylor. Taylor starts those 2 games then goes down with a rib injury Devito finishes the game. Jones returns to start the following week and promptly tears his ACL. A few short weeks after being activated Devito is starting.

I 'm buying the Hambone potential story line here and the one hit away is always an issue for QBs in any pro league and that might be why Atlanta tried to grab Rourke before the NY Giants got him off waivers. Atlanta only missed as they had lower priority or some such thing. The fact that they let the 48 hour waiver get done is likely knowing no one else was going to grab a QB like him at this stage of the pre-season with camps just starting and everyone's QB room full.

The change with the 3rd QB this season should be beneficial.

Rammer, I've come to the conclusion that BOTH Nathan and Kurtis Rourke have basically one dream and it ain't the CFL.

Nathan is not a Zach Collaros or BLM or any of those CFL top QBs who are more than satisfied building their careers here in Canada.
It's ironic given his off season training with Rob Williams in North Van but I'm just not getting the CFL vibe from either.

Part of it is how fast Nathan left with a body of work that was pretty good but very short and didn't include a Grey Cup win.

I like former Canadian QB Marshall Ferguson as an astute TSN broadcaster but his top 5 landing spots for Nathan Rourke if back to the CFL is questionable as any article like this might be.

There is no way that I could foresee the BC Lions bailing next year on Vernon Adams if he's healthy and still playing like he has been since taking over. Marshall Ferguson isn't saying they'd do that but the Lions know exactly how Rourke thinks and what he wants, and taking him back would be like marrying the woman of your dreams knowing she still thinks she has a chance with another man of HER dreams.

Asking Rourke to make a "rest of his career" in the CFL decision is tantamount to asking Chris Jones to do the same. Remember Chris Jones dumped Edmonton for Sask and dumped Sask for low level job in the NFL that didn't last as the HC got canned.

5. BC LIONS
Everyone knows the comments Nathan made a few weeks ago while visiting Vancouver to cheer on the Lions about wanting to be with BC if or when he came back to the CFL. While I don’t believe that would be considered lip service or pandering, I do think it would be pretty difficult to pull off right now. With Rourke knowing that I believe he was just expressing his adoration for the club which drafted him.

It would take some all-time guts for BC to move on from Vernon Adams Jr. in favour of Rourke this off-season considering how well VA is developing and playing. The only way it ever makes sense is if Rourke commits the rest of his career to BC and even then it’s one hell of a swing for the fences.

Funny that he never mentions the suspended Chad Kelly when he lists Argos.

https://www.cfl.ca/2024/07/30/ferguson- ... an-rourke/

Gonna look good in Hamilton next year.

My opinion, is time moves in one direction only. There was a fork in the road.
A. Double down on CFL greatness and continue to grow your skills.
B. Take a chance on your NFL dream at the peril of doing nothing but atrophying your skills and aging with nothing on your resume except the long past, talking about glory days a la Bruce Springsteen.

He went with B.

About the only thing sound about his decision was his acceptance that if thing go poorly, which they have, with wise financial investing and savings, he hasn't missed out on money as his "get my coffee" position on NFL teams pays about the same as top CFL QB money. I think he'd have made more in the CFL had he chosen option A, but he's still making reasonable coin so as long as he's fiscally responsible, he's doing OK.

But, if he gives up on his NFL pipe dream (he'll never get a starting job in the NFL - his best bet is to try to get one in the UFL), and comes back to CFL, I predict he'll middle of the road average. It's not 2021 anymore. Option A is no longer on the table. Yes, teams will fight over him. But the winners will be those who don't land an expensive albatross.

When there's a fork in the road, you get one chance to make a choice. Evidence seems to indicate he chose poorly if actually playing and growing his skills was something of interest to him, which I think it is.

If/when he returns to CFL, I predict he'll confirm that he was on a 10 game heater for one year. It was fun while it lasted, but that opportunity is no longer.

As fans, we should hope he's content with clipboard duty for 800K per year for another 10 years in the NFL. Because if he comes back to CFL, I see him proving the game passed him by while he wasted his maximum productivity/earning years doing nothing.

Overly pessimistic? Perhaps. But it's no more unrealistic than to think if he returns, he puts down a legacy that has him in consideration for "greatest of all time".

If you can sign him for Dustin Crumb money, do it. But if he gets the full bag with a 10 game legacy, I don't think he will live up to those expectations and his meh play, coupled with the money spent will handcuff whoever takes that chance to the point that they can't spend for a good supporting cast.

As a Lions fan, I just hope it's not here.

My 2 cents...

Lui05 wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2024 7:52 am
When there's a fork in the road, you get one chance to make a choice. Evidence seems to indicate he chose poorly if actually playing and growing his skills was something of interest to him, which I think it is.

If only this was predictable.

But if you really want to take one more NFL shot, I'd head out to Las Vegas where all of your QB options are bad at the moment.

Also, let's not kid ourselves that Tommy DiVito is good. He isn't. He's terrible.