49ers release QB right before 2026 regular season

The San Francisco 49ers face one of the most difficult assignments of any team in the NFL this season. They have high hopes of making a run at the NFC West title, but if they are going to do that, they are going to have to beat out the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the heavily favored Los Angeles Rams.

Perhaps no team in the league will have a greater challenge, but as head coach Kyle Shanahan finalizes his roster, he knows that quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones will attempt to drive the Niners past their two primary competitors. Purdy, of course is the team’s QB1, and Jones is a proven backup.

The No. 3 quarterback position came down to a battle between former Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez. Shanahan has decided that Rourke will man the No. 3 QB position and that Martinez does not have a place on the San Francisco roster, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport. Martinez played in one game for the 49ers last season, but that was not enough to convince the head coach that he deserved another spot on the team in 2026.

Purdy had to split time at quarterback last year with Jones, but he hopes to remain healthy and start 17 games this season. Purdy completed 197 of 284 passes for 2,167 yards with 20 TDs and 10 interceptions. Jones was solid as his backup, completing 201 of 289 passes for 2,151 yards with 13 TDs and 6 interceptions.

Martinez did not get a chance to throw the ball in the one game that he played last season, registering one carry on a kneel down on the final play of the game in a 34-24 victory over the New York Giants.