Canada's presence in the National Football League has grown significantly over the past few years, with more and more players from north of the border making an impact in the U.S.

Despite no Canadians having truly broken through at the quarterback position in the NFL, more are now getting the opportunity. 

Current BC Lions pivot and 2022 CFL Most Outstanding Canadian Nathan Rourke signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023, spending short stints of time on the active roster before making stops with the New England Patriots, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

Rourke's brother, Kurtis, who had a standout season with the Indiana Hoosiers last season, was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of April's NFL Draft, marking the first Canadian quarterback to be drafted in the NFL since Jesse Palmer was taken by the New York Giants in the fourth round in 2001.

Rourke is still working his way back from off-season knee surgery and is expected to start the season on the non-football injury list.

Then there's Taylor Elgersma of the Green Bay Packers. The Wilfred Laurier University quarterback went undrafted, but signed with the Packers ahead of training camp and has made multiple appearances in the preseason, giving him a shot of at least making the practice roster or even as the third stringer on the depth chart. 

Nathan Rourke joined OverDrive on Thursday afternoon and said he was "optimistic" with the growing Canadian content and opportunity in the NFL, especially in the skilled positions. 

Can Taylor Elgersma crack the Packers lineup out of training camp?

Al’s Brother & Dave Feschuk are joined by TSN Football Insider Farhan Lalji and they breakdown Tyler Elgersma’s success during NFL preseason and discuss the possibility of him cracking the Packers roster out of training camp.

"My brother and I, we were Canadians who went down and played in the NCAA. I think that certainly one of aspect of it. To be able to have recruiters in the States go up north of the border and be able to bring in players, especially quarterbacks," explained Rourke. "For a long time that happened for other positions maybe because you can't necessarily teach athleticism or size or anything like that, so for them to go and get quarterbacks, it's certainly a good sign.

"I think we're taking it a step further with someone like Taylor who's played U Sports. He didn't play the American game. For them to see that type of player can translate to the NFL game if just given the chance is a great testament to not only U Sports in general, but to the players they're producing."

Rourke says he's rooting for Canadians like his brother and Elgersma to find success in the NFL. 

"[I'm] rooting for all the Canadians in the NFL or in the CFL. You recognize there's not a ton of us, especially at the quarterback position, and so certainly rooting for him [Elgersma] and hoping that he continues to have success. I'm glad that he's been given a chance," said Rourke. "I know that he went down initially as a UDFA (undrafted free agent), signing with Green Bay, and sometimes those are just bodies. He made the most of his opportunity and was able to get an invite to camp which was incredible. So, hats off to the organization for giving him a chance and hats off to him for taking advantage of it."

Elgersma, 23, has completed 10 of 15 pass attempts for 133 yards this preseason. 

"I think it's a great time for Canadian football and hopefully players like him and players like my brother are able to continue to pave that way with their performance on the field and hopefully that just takes care of itself and for the next player coming up, that won't be given a second thought," Rourke said. 

 

Rourke, Lions set to battle last-place Argonauts in Week 12

Rourke and the 5-5 Lions are in Toronto this weekend to take on the 2-8 Argos, who rank last in the CFL after winning the Grey Cup just a season ago. 

Watch the Lions battle the Argonauts LIVE at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT across the TSN Network, streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Rourke says you "always run the risk" of taking a last-place team lightly, but know the Argos are a better team than their record shows. 

"When we watch the film on these guys, they don't really show as their record does. We know that they're playing hard, they have some very good players, very experienced players on defence," said Rourke.

"We're trying not to put a lot of stake into that [record] because we know they're a better team than that. In this league in the CFL, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. It's important for us to make sure we're coming out with the right attitude and making sure we play our best football because that's what it going to take against a team like Toronto."

The 27-year-old Rourke, who is in the midst of his first full season back in the CFL following his stint in the NFL in 2023 and 2024, has thrown for 2,686 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions over 10 games.

BC has won back-to-back games with Rourke throwing for a combined 790 yards with six touchdowns and and two interceptions. 

"There's always something to improve on," Rourke said. "We're at .500 right now. We still feel like there's a lot for this team to grow. "[We're] expecting to continue to build on what we did last week and the week before that and hopefully continue to make steps to where we want to go at the end of the year." 

The Lions are currently sitting fourth in the West Division.