What happened to Nathan Rourke? Why was Jaguars 3rd string QB not playing on MNF?

The Jacksonville Jaguars may badly want another quarterback right now.

During the third quarter of their 34-31 overtime loss against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, Trevor Lawrence suffered an injury to his right ankle and leg on this third-down "friendly fire" incident involving left tackle Walker Little:

Backup CJ Beathard eventually completed the game, but some wondered why 2022 CFL breakout star Nathan Rourke was not activated before the game.

According to a new-for-2023 rule, teams may dress a 49th player as an emergency quarterback, but there are some restrictions:

• The player cannot have been elevated from the practice squad.
• The starting quarterback and his backup must be on the 53-player active roster.
• Exactly two quarterbacks must be on the 47-48 player gameday roster.

Rourke is on the practice squad, so he was already disqualified. If he's to play, he must be elevated as a full backup in case Lawrence's injuries prove too debilitating to play through.

---

Trevor Lawrence's initial injury diagnosis less pessimistic than anticipated for Jaguars

Good news for Duval: Trevor Lawrence has no serious injuries - at least for now.

Shortly after he left the field, he went to the X-ray room and did not return. The initial scan eventually revealed only an ankle sprain, but he will still undergo more tests on Tuesday:

Medical analyst Tom Christ, meanwhile, fears that Lawrence may have also hurt his PCL during the subsequent landing:

At the post-game press conference, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson did not directly provide an update. Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of CJ Beathard starting against the Cleveland Browns next week, he said:

"We will see where Trevor's at first. But listen, we've got 100 percent confidence in C.J. I mean, he did a nice job getting down the field there... got a lot of confidence in C.J.

"He's a veteran player. He's played a lot of football, and if he happens to be the guy, then we get behind him and support him."

The Jaguars had been in contention to take the AFC lead via intraconference record with a win. However, the ensuing loss instead puts them at 8-4, behind the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs via head-to-head.