Typically, third-string quarterback battles don't garner a ton of attention when teams kick off training camp.
Yet the San Francisco 49ers may want to pay attention to how things shake out between the two candidates, Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez, because one of those two could ultimately become vital to the Niners depth chart, especially if Brock Purdy suffers and injury and/or the No. 2 option, Mac Jones, gets moved sometime between now and the trade deadline.
San Francisco seems intent on keeping Jones for the duration of 2026, although all it would take is for another team to lose its starter, then Jones becomes a hot commodity.
And while there's been a good deal of focus on Rourke after redshirting his rookie 2025 campaign following a collegiate ACL tear, Martinez surely doesn't want to be just the "other guy" on the depth chart.
If anything, the latter might be gunning for Purdy's primary backup for the long haul.
Adrian Martinez could greatly impact 49ers' decisions at QB behind Brock Purdy
Martinez, who primarily spent his pre-49ers 2025 tenure with the New York Jets, actually had a regular-season snap a year ago: a 1-yard kneel down as Jones' No. 2 when Purdy missed eight starts because of a turf-toe injury.
It'll be interesting to see how Martinez responds to a full offseason program alongside Purdy and Jones, though, including training camp and the preseason. While Rourke might possess some flair, reports from organized team activities weren't positive, and there's just as good a chance he flounders as opposed to shining as Jones' potential heir.
That'd be a scenario in which Martinez would love to seize the primary backup job.
It's all but given Jones will depart the Niners in 2027, at the latest, seeking a full-time job after resurrecting his career in the Bay Area, leaving the backup job behind Purdy wide open.
Should the 26-year-old Martinez do enough to impress in camp and the preseason, not only might he push Rourke fully off the depth chart, but the former could set himself up nicely to be San Francisco's long-term No. 2.
That'd be quite the development, one few likely would've expected.
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