Kurtis Rourke looks like the 49ers quarterback who stands to gain the most this preseason, and the setup points to plenty of work for the second-year passer.
With San Francisco’s quarterback depth chart and injury situation, it would make sense for fans to see a heavy dose of Rourke over the summer. The 49ers have typically been careful with their top quarterbacks in preseason action, and that approach should hold again this year.
Last preseason, Mac Jones opened the first week by playing the first two drives. Brock Purdy got the start in the second preseason game, but he was only out there for a drive before Jones handled things through the second half. By the third preseason game, neither Purdy nor Jones played at all.
It would be a surprise if the 49ers changed course much this time around. If anything, they would likely want Purdy and Jones on the field even less, just to make sure both enter the season healthy. They’ll get some snaps to shake off the rust, but the bigger workload should fall to Rourke.
The expectation is that Rourke gets most of the first half in the preseason opener. In the second game, the 49ers will have to choose whether he gets the full second half, whether Adrian Martinez takes some of that time, or whether Jones ends up taking a bite out of the quarterback reps by playing in the second half.
Then comes the third preseason game, where Rourke should be the starter. That likely means he’d get the entire first half. All told, fans should see roughly four quarters from Rourke in preseason play, and possibly more.
The reason the 49ers can lean this way is simple enough. Rourke was a seventh-round pick who missed his rookie season because of an ACL injury.
He was already hurt before the draft, and San Francisco still took him knowing he would not play that year. That tells you how much the team valued him.
Martinez gives the 49ers another option, but he’s not exactly a mystery. He was with the Jets last preseason, completed 58.8% of his passes, and threw one touchdown and two interceptions on 51 passing attempts. He’s been in the NFL since 2023, and most people know what he is.
So the decision comes down to this: give the unknown quarterback with upside a real preseason runway, or chip away at his development with Martinez. The way things are lining up, Rourke should see plenty of the field this summer.
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