{"id":185596,"date":"2026-05-11T18:15:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=185596"},"modified":"2026-05-11T18:15:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T18:15:51","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-bombshell-hes-not-just-a-backup-anymore-the-49ers-mysterious-7th-round-ghost-is-suddenly-creeping-into-the-spotlight-with-whispers-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=185596","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 BOMBSHELL : He\u2019s not just a backup anymore \u2014 the 49ers\u2019 mysterious 7th-round \u201cghost\u201d is suddenly creeping into the spotlight, with whispers growing that an ACL survivor with 29 TDs could eventually push past Mac Jones and even threaten Brock Purdy\u2019s grip on the future, a QB controversy may already be quietly ticking inside San Francisco \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>He\u2019ll be given a lot of looks.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_123,w_8031,h_4517\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/42\/01kr4waxkr2wr8txhtws.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The San Francisco 49ers fully understood drafting former\u00a0Indiana\u00a0quarterback Kurtis Rourke in Round 7 of the 2025 NFL Draft would be a long-term, low-risk investment. After all, Rourke had suffered a torn ACL during his final year in college (and somehow managed to play through it), meaning his rookie season in the pros was tabbed to be\u00a0nothing more than a redshirt year.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_1\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">That year is over now, though, meaning Rourke\u2019s foray into actual on-field work in the NFL can begin.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">And he\u2019s certainly someone worth monitoring in workouts between now and the regular season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The Niners already have their top two spots on the depth chart set; Brock Purdy is the non-questioned No. 1 with Mac Jones backing him up. After that, though, the battle is on between both Rourke and last year\u2019s QB3, Adrian Martinez, who saw roster time in 2025 when Purdy was out eight games with a turf-toe injury.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_2\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_2_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Usually, third-string quarterbacking battles aren\u2019t much to discuss. But, in San Francisco\u2019s case, it\u2019s of interest for several different reasons.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">49ers have vested interest in Kurtis Rourke developing quickly<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">It\u2019s bluntly obvious Jones won\u2019t be with the 49ers when his current contract expires in 2027, and he\u2019ll capitalize on his success a year ago as proof he resurrected what was otherwise a floundering career up to that point.<\/p>\n<div id=\"js_adsconex_parallax_1\" class=\"\" data-type=\"parallax\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_ad-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"adsconex-parallax_ad\" align=\"center\">\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_inpage_1\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/inpage_1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">So, the Niners need a succession plan in place, and Rourke could easily be that guy after finishing 2024 with 3,042 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and an NCAA-high 9.5 yards per pass attempt.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">However, should Rourke\u2019s maturation come along more swiftly, San Francisco could feasibly be comfortable dealing Jones to a quarterback-needy team much earlier than just letting him depart via free agency an offseason from now. True, Jones\u2019 trade market earlier this offseason\u00a0grew ice cold. But, as we\u2019ve seen in years prior\u2014the 2016 injury to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater comes to mind, which prompted Minnesota to trade for Sam Bradford\u2014an injury to a starting signal-caller elsewhere in the league could force some desperation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div_adsconex_banner_responsive_3\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23156761210\/cafex\/banner_responsive_3_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">If Rourke impresses early enough, giving comfort to the 49ers coaching staff that he can adequately back up Purdy, then Jones becomes an even greater trade asset once again.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">At worst, of course, Rourke fails to deliver on that front, meaning both he and Martinez are relegated to a lackluster competition for a job few will talk about between now and Week 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He\u2019ll be given a lot of looks. The San Francisco 49ers fully understood drafting former\u00a0Indiana\u00a0quarterback Kurtis Rourke in Round 7 of the 2025 NFL Draft would be&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":185597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udea8 BOMBSHELL : He\u2019s not just a backup anymore \u2014 the 49ers\u2019 mysterious 7th-round \u201cghost\u201d is suddenly creeping into the spotlight, with whispers growing that an ACL survivor with 29 TDs could eventually push past Mac Jones and even threaten Brock Purdy\u2019s grip on the future, a QB controversy may already be quietly ticking inside San Francisco \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=185596\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8 BOMBSHELL : He\u2019s not just a backup anymore \u2014 the 49ers\u2019 mysterious 7th-round \u201cghost\u201d is suddenly creeping into the spotlight, with whispers growing that an ACL survivor with 29 TDs could eventually push past Mac Jones and even threaten Brock Purdy\u2019s grip on the future, a QB controversy may already be quietly ticking inside San Francisco \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47 - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He\u2019ll be given a lot of looks. 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