San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was taken to the hospital after sustaining a rib injury during Thursday night’s preseason opener.
The second-year signal-caller experienced difficulty breathing after completing 12 of 14 passes for 101 yards in the 19-13 loss to the visiting Tennessee Titans.
“They said ribs, he was struggling to breathe so they took him to the hospital just to check on him and make sure he’s all right. X-rays in here didn’t show it was broken,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “They just wanted to get more imaging and find out, so they weren’t too concerned. I don’t want to downplay it but I don’t want to overplay it either.”
San Francisco drafted Rourke in the seventh round (227th overall) in 2025 out of Indiana. He did not see any regular-season action for the 49ers last season.
Rourke, 25, is competing with Adrian Martinez for the No. 3 quarterback spot in San Francisco behind incumbent starter Brock Purdy and backup Mac Jones.
