O’Leary: Rourke, Adams could be a Grey Cup-calibre pairing

A conversation with a team official a few weeks ago has stuck with me as Nathan Rourke‘s NFL options unfolded in front of him.

They called Rourke the drop-everything, change-your-plans type of player that could give any franchise in the CFL a decade of stability. A 10-year franchise player, was the phrasing.

On Tuesday, the BC Lions stepped in as the team to give themselves that kind of plan when they announced they’d signed Rourke and that he’d be back with them for practice on Wednesday.

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A decade in the real world is about three lifetimes in football. In signing Rourke to a three-year deal, per head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell, the franchise has taken that first step to the game’s most coveted commodity: long-term stability.

In the short-term, they have a “problem” that the other eight teams in the league would love to have: two MOP-calibre QBs on their roster.

Rourke joins a Lions team that started the season 5-1 behind Vernon Adams Jr.‘s incredible start. The 31-year-old, eight-year CFL vet was on pace for more than 6,000 passing yards before he was injured in the Lions’ Week 9 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. With the Lions on a three-game slide and with Adams sidelined, Campbell said it was possible that Rourke could play on Sunday at BC Place against the Bombers, if he checked enough boxes during the coming week of practice.

Adams came to the Lions in 2022, when Rourke went down with a foot injury that cost him about half of his season. The two have shared a locker room, practice reps and an offence together before. That won’t be new. The challenge for Adams, who has turned so much of his potential into reality in BC over the last two seasons, will be relinquishing the role he’s earned.

If he can do that, though, the Lions’ chances at Grey Cup success will spike.

“Part of me for this to happen with Nathan, the package for me was Vernon stays,” Campbell told Global Vancouver, echoing the sentiment of the team’s announcement of Rourke’s return. In it, Campbell said that Adams would not be traded this year.

“(He’s an) excellent quarterback, valuable leader, a big part of this team,” Campbell continued. “We wanted to make it work where they both can be here. (Adams) was my first call. I talked to him before coaches, if you can believe that because I think very highly of him. There are some mixed emotions in there but it’s an exciting day for the BC Lions. To have two quarterbacks of that calibre is pretty remarkable.

“I’m a big VA fan. On the field you see what he does, but if you see him around this facility and how he’s a leader and how he conducts himself, it’s awesome and I wouldn’t expect anything different.”

Rourke makes the Lions an even stronger Grey Cup contender and gives them a loaded QB room with Vernon Adams Jr. (Chris Tanouye/CFL.ca)

Rourke will be the long-term plan for the Lions, but in this short-term scenario, this is likely as loaded as they’ll be at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future. With the Lions hosting the 111th Grey Cup in November, they’ve put themselves in a tremendous position to take a run at the championship that they haven’t held since the 2011 season.

“The mindset in talking with Nathan (on Monday) and talking with VA, we want to make this year as good as it can be and see what we can do this year. Then we’ll cross those bridges down the road as we go,” Campbell said.

“He always felt love from this club and this country and this league and unfortunately he wasn’t getting the type of love he wanted from the other league, so fortunate for us, unfortunate for them,” Lions co-GM Neil McEvoy told Global Vancouver when speaking of Rourke.

“It’s a good opportunity for us and the league. This isn’t any regular player we’re signing. This is someone who has a lot of pedigree in our league and our country and I’m excited for all of us.”

The Lions secured their long-term future on Tuesday and in the short-term, have a tremendous opportunity to give the 2024 season a magical conclusion.