The 49ers enter training camp with a quarterback setup most teams would envy. Brock Purdy is still the starter, but San Francisco’s real edge is that it never moved backup Mac Jones this offseason, keeping a starting-caliber option in reserve.
That matters because the 49ers already lived through this last season. Purdy was dealing with a lingering toe injury, and Jones stepped in to help keep the season on track, going 5-3 in eight starts as San Francisco finished with 12 wins. For a team trying to stay in the Super Bowl mix, that kind of insurance is a luxury.
There was a point this offseason when a trade felt possible. San Francisco clearly had a price in mind for Jones, and it was too high for teams that checked in.
A move could still happen later, but for now the 49ers are holding onto a backup who looked more like a stopgap starter than a typical No. 2.
That leaves the top of the depth chart in a familiar place. Purdy remains QB1, no matter how much public noise there was in 2025 about Jones taking over. The 49ers made their stance clear last season, and even another strong run from Jones in Purdy’s absence would make a permanent switch hard to imagine.
The rest of the quarterback room is still sorting itself out. Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez are battling for the third spot, and that competition should play out in the preseason.
Martinez spent almost all of last season on the practice squad and served as Jones’ backup on the active roster when Purdy was out. Rourke, a 2025 seventh-round pick, missed most of the year while rehabbing from an offseason ACL repair, though he did get a few practices late in the season and now has a real shot to win a roster spot in year two.
The biggest question for San Francisco at the position is health. Purdy has been banged up throughout his NFL career, and while he has mostly avoided a major injury that cost him significant time, it’s hard to count on him for all 17 games.
The other question is how long Jones stays in San Francisco. Quarterback injuries can turn a backup into a trade target fast, and if the right contender loses its starter, Jones could draw real draft capital in-season. There’s also the possibility that a QB-needy team for 2027 tries to get ahead of free agency and make a move, though that feels less likely with a loaded draft class potentially on the way next April.
As for the roster math, the 49ers would prefer to carry two quarterbacks on the active roster and stash a third on the practice squad for emergency game days. But that gets tricky if Rourke or Martinez has a strong preseason.
Getting one of them to the practice squad means exposing him to waivers, and another team could jump in. If San Francisco thinks it might lose a real asset that way, keeping three quarterbacks on the active roster becomes a real possibility.
The likeliest outcome is still two on the active roster, but the 49ers aren’t ruling out three.
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