The impressive performances of quarterback Nathan Rourke in preseason don’t have him knocking on the door of the backup quarterback job for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, there’s no competition at the position. When asked if there was a battle for No. 2 on the depth chart, Pederson simply said “no.”
“I thought Nathan did well again today,” Pederson said at a postgame press conference Saturday. “A couple touchdown drives there and he’s done a nice job. He’s done exactly what we ask him to do. C.J. [Beathard] is our No. 2 and, obviously, Trevor [Lawrence] is our No. 1.”
Beathard, 29, started 12 games during his four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Jaguars as a backup in 2021. While he only saw snaps in clean-up duty during his first two years with Jacksonville, the team re-signed Beathard to another two-year deal in February.
Rourke, 25, previously starred with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League and signed with the Jaguars in January after working out for a dozen NFL teams.
Through two preseason games, Beathard has completed 18 of his 33 passes for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rourke has completed 19 of 29 passes for 274 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
The question now for the Jaguars is whether the team would consider carrying three quarterbacks on the roster into the regular season. The team hasn’t done that in the last two seasons, but would have to place Rourke on the waiver wire if it hopes to re-sign him to the practice squad.
