You might have known this was coming.
Last April, the San Francisco 49ers used one of their three seventh-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rouke.
The Niners had no intention of getting him on the field right away.
Rourke, after all, suffered a torn ACL during his final year in college. But the amazing thing is he played through the injury, finishing 2024 with 3,042 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and an NCAA-high 9.5 yards per pass attempt. Certainly, had it not been for the injury, the 6-foot-3 and 211-pound prospect would have been drafted higher than Round 7.
San Francisco, which already boasted rostered quarterbacks in Brock Purdy, Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai, is going to play the stash-and-wait game with its rookie signal-caller.
49ers place Kurtis Rourke on NFI list, likely ending his season
A day after rookies were to report to 49ers training camp, the team announced it placed Rourke on the non-football injury list (this list includes injuries suffered by players outside an NFL setting, including collegiate injuries).
The San Francisco 49ers today announced the team has placed QB Kurtis Rourke on the Active/Non-Football Injury List.
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 16, 2025
The NFI list carries no designations against either the 90-man offseason roster or the 53-man regular-season roster, so Rourke won't equate into the Niners having to reserve him a spot during roster cuts. They will, however, have an open roster spot available to add another player, should they choose.
San Francisco understood Rourke likely wouldn't be healthy in time for the regular season, let alone training camp, and there isn't a rush to get him on the field anyway.
If anything, the likeliest play is for the rookie QB to redshirt 2025 while awaiting whatever developments happen in the quarterback room behind Purdy between now and 2026, possibly aiming for a door to open as the Niners' third-string option.
From San Francisco's perspective, it's a low-cost investment that required a mere Round 7 pick to use, meaning Rourke may either deliver a hefty return above expectations or cost very little in terms of a wasted asset.
But, it'll probably be 2026 before anyone can conclude on that one way or another.
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