**Written by Caleb Elio Templeton
All eyes are going to be on Nathan Rourke as he enters the 2026 CFL season. The Canadian product can be seen at the BC Lions practice facility with his offence working endlessly this offseason as he has his sights set on winning his first-ever Grey Cup.
Rourke is coming off an incredible 2025 season, winning the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian and the CFL’s George Reed Most Outstanding Player award, becoming the fifth player in CFL history to win both awards in the same season. But when the Lions quarterback received his rings for the two awards earlier this month, he said it didn’t mean much to him as he is fully focused on the 2026 CFL season.
“Individual awards as a concept to me are just a little bit difficult, like football is the ultimate team sport and these recognitions are ultimately just a reflection of a greater team effort,” Rourke said.
“That [the awards] were such a thing in ‘25…took me about a week to be like alright, I’m ready and looking towards ‘26.”
Until the team’s content shoot earlier this month, Rourke added that he forgot that he would even receive rings for his individual accomplishments, which led him to comment on his desire for a Grey Cup ring for this upcoming season.
Rourke had an amazing 2025 campaign where he amassed an incredible 5,290 passing yards, shattering Russ Jackson’s 56-year-long single-season Canadian record, along with adding 41 total touchdowns (31 passing, 10 rushing) and another 564 yards on the ground.
The success in 2025 got Rourke and the Lions to agree on a multi-year contract extension, keeping the Victoria native with the team through the 2028 season.
For Rourke though, it’s about championships. The Leos went to the Western Final in 2025, but lost 24-21 in gut-wrenching fashion to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the road, where the Riders scored the game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. It was the Lions’ third Western Final loss in four seasons.
The Lions signal-caller showed up big in the game, having 296 total yards and three touchdowns, but he says he has learned a lot from that game, and blames himself and the offence for mishandling late 4th quarter situations.
“Offensively, we couldn’t get a 1st down, and we gave the Riders too much time to deal with and we weren’t able to get enough points to hold them off,” Rourke says.
“It’s about making plays when it matters most. The Riders made more plays than we did in those moments, and that’s why they won.”
Despite the focus on the Grey Cup, Rourke says the team needs to stay disciplined and not get ahead of themselves this season by taking a week-by-week approach.
“You can’t win the Grey Cup in week one, you’ve got to be able to take it week-by-week, learn what we can and just continue to try and get better as a team.”
But after all the individual success from the Lions quarterback in his CFL career, Rourke is fully locked in on bringing the Lions a Grey Cup championship. The Canadian quarterback said that he knows the Lions’ rich history as a franchise, and the Grey Cup drought has stayed on his mind this offseason.
“I don’t know if it’s pressure, but it’s certainly on our minds,” says Rourke.
“Before 2011, we were in the West Final all the time, competing for Grey Cups all the time, and for one reason or another, we just haven’t been in those situations.”
Rourke added that he knows the Lions have gotten close to a Grey Cup appearance many times recently, but he does not want the team to be known as a franchise that just gets close to getting the job done.
With the coaches and players in BC’s locker room, Rourke says this season is a great opportunity for the Lions to win their seventh Grey Cup championship.
“I believe in the people in this group, I believe in the coaching staff that’s leading us and I know they’re going to continue to put us in good positions and we think we have the right people at that’s what ultimately is going to get us through.”
For Rourke, he knows that a quarterback’s success is measured in championships, and he believes that championships are what separates great players from the good.
“I think all the guys that stand out to me as great players. They’ve all got championships,” Rourke said.
He added that he wants to be known for being the starting quarterback for great championship teams and he believes the Lions have one this year.
With Rourke’s goal for a Grey Cup championship this year, expect another big showing from the Lions quarterback, with hopefully a sweeter ending to the season.