Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke believes the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be a good fit for his brother, Kurtis, if he ever comes to the CFL.
The Riders selected the younger Rourke with the 25th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 CFL Draft, claiming his rights if he ever returns north. The six-foot-four, 220-pound pivot had already been taken with the 227th pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers three days earlier, but now has an attractive fallback should he fail to catch on with the team.
“He’s gonna give everything he has to the Niners and that organization, but I said there’s no better place to play when you’re coming from the U.S. than to go to Saskatchewan and play with that passionate fan base,” Nathan said of his brother’s CFL opportunity.
“I’m a little bit biased to the fans here and what we’ve got here in B.C. But for a guy who’s used to the Big Ten and the NFL lifestyle, they’ve got a pretty good setup over there.”
The B.C. Lions’ franchise quarterback hasn’t always been so positive about the Roughriders, who have been the opponent for some key moments in his career. Rourke unexpectedly made his first career start against Saskatchewan in 2021 and, just over a year later, it was Riders’ defensive end Pete Robertson who caused the Lisfranc sprain that derailed his historic 2022 campaign. As recently as last October, he ruffled feathers in Regina by stating that he didn’t ever want to “root for the Roughriders” even though a Saskatchewan victory could have secured B.C. a playoff spot.
While his sibling’s new affiliation may have softened Rourke’s feelings toward a West Division rival, it is the prospect of a future duel between Canadian QB brothers that has most CFL fans excited. That could still be several years away, however, and may never manifest due to the quality of Kurtis’ NFL landing spot.
Nathan was with his brother throughout Day 3 of the NFL Draft and was overjoyed when he got the call from San Francisco.
“It was a very stressful day, but it was a very exciting day. We were with a lot of family, and it was one of those days when you aren’t really sure what’s going to happen,” he recalled.
“The draft was a bit of a media frenzy when it comes to quarterbacks and so all of that stuff was affecting us. There was some quarterbacks that we thought might go ahead of him, and we wanted them to get off the board so he would be able to be picked. We weren’t exactly expecting San Francisco, but the fact is when you look into it a little bit closer, I think it’s a great situation for him. I’m really excited for him, and glad that he’s a little bit closer to me so I can go see him a little bit more.”
Kurtis took over for his older brother as the starting quarterback at Ohio University in 2020 and went on to pass him for second place on the school’s all-time passing yardage list before transferring to Indiana University for his final season. He led the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff and finished ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy, despite playing the entire year on a torn ACL.
The younger Rourke wrapped up his collegiate career with 10,693 passing yards, 79 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 48 games, winning the Jon Cornish Trophy in 2024 as the top Canadian player in the NCAA. His brother won that prestigious award twice while starting for the Bobcats but never generated serious interest in the NFL Draft.
Nathan later spent time with four different NFL teams as a free agent, learning first-hand just how important both team fit and investment can be for your long-term prospects. He believes the 49ers meet both of those criteria for Kurtis.
“Being a drafted guy rather than an undrafted free agent, I think, is huge. They see a plan, they’re making an investment in him and they did that despite the injury. I think that those are huge things,” Rourke said.
“The quarterback situation is what it is and I think they’ve shown in the past that they aren’t afraid to go with a guy regardless of where he’s picked, whether he’s a first-round pick, someone that they traded for, or a seventh-round Mr. Irrelevant. I think that’s a good situation. They’ve got a good culture there as well, got some great vets. I think there’s a lot of things that are pointing in the right direction.”
The Niners’ current starting quarterback, Brock Purdy, was famously a seventh-round selection like Kurtis, taking over the job as a rookie despite being the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has also traditionally rostered four quarterbacks in some capacity, which bodes well for their Canadian draftee given that free agent addition Mac Jones and last year’s undrafted signee Tanner Mordecai are the only other passers under contract right now.
Even if the opportunity in San Francisco doesn’t result in long-term job security, Kurtis will have a chance to continue his career in Saskatchewan. While that call wasn’t quite as glamorous as the one from the Bay Area, the Rourke family doesn’t take for granted the type of future the CFL can offer.
“We were excited,” Nathan said. “I told him, ‘It’s good to have a plan B, to know that you’re gonna be able to play football still.’”
The post ‘There’s no better place to play’: Canadian QB Nathan Rourke approves Saskatchewan Roughriders selecting brother Kurtis in CFL Draft appeared first on 3DownNation.
