49ers QB discharged from hospital amid rib injury in preseason opener

The San Francisco 49ers have dealt with injuries from the start of training camp, which doesn’t bode well for the team’s health in 2026.

In Thursday’s preseason opening loss to the Tennessee Titans, the 49ers lost two players during the matchup. On the first drive of the game, cornerback Jack Jones was ruled out with a hand injury.

The second 49ers injury of the preseason opener was to third-string quarterback Kurtis Rourke, whose ailment required a hospital visit. The team told reporter Cam Inman that Rourke was eventually discharged from the hospital Thursday night.

Rourke was experiencing shortness of breath and needed further imaging after the stadium’s X-ray machine didn’t reveal a fracture.

There’s no confirmation when he sustained the rib injury, but it appears to have been when he was hit on a run to the 1-yard line. The quarterback exited after three series and was replaced by Adrian Martinez halfway through the second quarter.

Martinez was the only quarterback in uniform after Rourke’s departure, since neither Brock Purdy or Mac Jones had suited up Thursday.

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Rourke shined in his preseason debut, completing 12-of-14 passes for 100 yards and showed off his mobility as a signal-caller. He missed all of the 2025 season as he recovered from ACL surgery.

The 49ers selected Rourke with the 227th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Had Martinez also gone down with an injury, the 49ers would have been forced to turn to tight end Brayden Willis.

The team had prepped Willis for emergency duty, which would have included solely handoffs.

The injury woes in San Francisco have been unrelenting thus far with the regular season less than a month away.