The San Francisco 49ers had a scary moment during their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. Third-string quarterback Kurtis Rourke left the game with a rib injury and was transferred to a local hospital after struggling to breathe, according to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Rourke, the Canadian-born signal-caller who San Francisco selected in the seventh round last year, had been performing well before the injury forced him out. Fortunately, the situation does not appear to be serious, and the early expectation is that Rourke will be fine.

Shanahan addressed the situation after the game, providing context on the medical staff’s decision to send Rourke to the hospital for further evaluation.

“They said ribs,” Shanahan said. “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. 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.”

Strong performance before leaving the game

Before the injury cut his night short, Rourke put together a sharp outing. He completed 12 of 14 passes for 101 yards with a 96.7 passer rating. Shanahan praised his performance.

“He looked good,” Shanahan added. “Got the ball to the right spot, played well.”

Rourke sits third on the 49ers’ quarterback depth chart behind starter Brock Purdy and veteran Mac Jones. After Rourke exited, quarterback Adrian Martinez finished the game, completing 16 of 30 passes for 159 yards with a 68.6 passer rating. San Francisco lost to the Titans 19-13, though the final score is secondary during a preseason opener built around individual evaluations and early chemistry.

The hope is that Rourke’s rib injury won’t be more damaging than the initial imaging suggests, and that he can return to the field healthy enough to compete for a spot on the 49ers’ roster, or at least the practice squad.

Rourke’s path to the NFL was an unconventional one. Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, he played his college football first at Ohio before transferring to Indiana. He was also a third-round pick in the Canadian Football League draft but opted to pursue his career in the United States. The 49ers took a flier on him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and Thursday’s performance showed why San Francisco saw potential worth developing, even if the night ended on a concerning note.