49ers HC downplays need for new QB after preseason injury

Kurtis Rourke's trip to the hospital Thursday night with a rib injury raised an obvious question for the San Francisco 49ers: do they need to bring in another arm at quarterback? Kyle Shanahan isn't in a rush. "Yeah, maybe," Shanahan said when asked if the team needs to add a quarterback. "I mean, we still have three in here, so it's not a necessity. With other guys on the roster, it might be hard to carry five, but you don't have to with three." Rourke exited the game in the second quarter and was taken to the hospital after struggling to breathe, though X-rays did not show a broken rib. Shanahan said the team was still waiting on further evaluation Friday. The third-string quarterback, a 2025 seventh-round pick out of Indiana, completed 12-of-14 passes for 101 yards, and he rushed for 14 yards on three carries. Even with Rourke's status uncertain, Shanahan noted the 49ers had a contingency plan in place in case preseason backup Adrian Martinez had also gone down. "From the second quarter on we were talking about guys who were in the game who could take a handoff and hand it off or take a snap and hand it off," Shanahan said. "[Tight end] Brayden Willis was going to go in. We were doing handoff drills with him at halftime, so he was ready for it if we had to." San Francisco knows firsthand how quickly a lack of quarterback depth can spiral. In the 2022 NFC Championship Game against the Eagles, the 49ers lost Brock Purdy to an elbow injury in the first quarter, then watched his replacement, Josh Johnson, exit with a concussion in the third. With no healthy quarterback left on the roster, San Francisco was forced to send an injured Purdy back onto the field, capable of little more than handoffs, while Christian McCaffrey stood ready as an emergency option at the position. While the stakes are a lot smaller this time around, this is the kind of nightmare scenario that makes carrying enough arms in the quarterback room a priority — even if Shanahan isn't yet sounding the alarm on Rourke's injury. For now, San Francisco appears content to ride out the preseason with its current quarterback room intact while it monitors Rourke's recovery. Martinez would slide into the QB3 role in Rourke's absence, with Purdy and Mac Jones as the starter and backup, respectively, although it remains to be seen if either will see action in the preseason. There are plenty of training camp quarterbacks out there, though, who could be added if needed. Some names that come to mind: Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel and Desmond Ridder. This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers HC downplays need for new QB after preseason injury