Kurtis Rourke has not played a football game since January 2025. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is healthy for the first time in two years, and he is competing for the third quarterback job in training camp.

“It’s been almost two years, so I’m excited to finally get out there, play with the team and play with the guys,” Rourke said.

Rourke spent his rookie season on the non-football injury list. San Francisco placed him there in July 2025 because of knee surgery he had that January. The team opened his practice window in December, then closed it and returned him to the list. He did not take a snap.

Rourke and Adrian Martinez compete for the third spot

Brock Purdy is the starter. Mac Jones is the backup. Rourke and Adrian Martinez are competing for the job behind them. San Francisco carried two quarterbacks on its active roster for most of last season.

Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said the competition will run through camp. “Kurtis is what we thought he was, as far as the size, the mental strength he has, and his ability to throw the football,” Kubiak said. On Martinez: “Adrian’s a pro. Adrian does things the right way. The ball goes where it’s supposed to go when Adrian’s in the game.”

Kubiak said the decision comes out of the preseason games. San Francisco hosts Tennessee on August 13, plays at the Los Angeles Chargers on August 20 and finishes at Las Vegas on August 27.

Twenty-four years between Canadian quarterbacks

San Francisco drafted Rourke 227th overall in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the first Canadian quarterback drafted by an NFL team since Jesse Palmer, who went 125th overall to the New York Giants in 2001. Palmer appeared in eight games over two seasons.

Twenty-four years passed between the two picks. Three things account for the gap.

The first is exposure. U Sports teams play an eight-game regular season. NCAA programs play twelve or more and draw NFL scouts to campus. Canadian quarterbacks who want NFL looks leave for American schools. Both Rourkes did. Nathan played at Ohio. Kurtis played at Ohio, then transferred to Indiana for 2024.

The second is the CFL ratio. The league requires teams to dress a set number of national players, and the rule excludes quarterbacks. A Canadian quarterback earns a CFL club no ratio credit, so teams have had no roster reason to develop one.

The third is the pipeline. Fewer Canadian high schools field football programs than American ones, and quarterback takes the longest to develop.

Rourke’s 2024 season at Indiana put him on draft boards. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 3,042 yards, 29 touchdowns and five interceptions. He made second-team All-Big Ten and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting. He played that season on a torn ACL, an injury that dated to November 2022 at Ohio, and had surgery on January 3, 2025.

Nathan Rourke waits while Kaidon Salter starts

Nathan Rourke left the B.C. Lions’ July 17 game against Edmonton on the second play from scrimmage. Elks defensive lineman Noah Taylor sacked him. Rourke walked off and returned to the sideline with his left arm in a sling. An MRI showed no surgery was needed.

General manager Ryan Rigmaiden put the timeline at “weeks rather than months, and knowing Nate, it’ll be sooner rather than later.”

Rourke had 1,399 passing yards through six weeks. He won the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award in 2025 after throwing for 5,290 yards and 31 touchdowns in 18 games, and B.C. signed him through 2028. He set a passing record in a 52-23 win at Calgary during that run.

Chase Brice started the next game. He went 20-of-34 for 226 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. B.C. signed Tyrie Adams for depth and gave the July 30 start to Kaidon Salter at Princess Auto Stadium.

Salter won it 35-19 over Winnipeg. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, carried 10 times for 160 yards and caught a two-point conversion. The 160 rushing yards set a franchise record for a Lions quarterback. Zander Horvath carried 17 times for 191 yards and scored three times, on runs of one, 58 and 35 yards.

B.C. has not set a return date for Nathan Rourke, and the club has not said who starts when he is cleared.

Canadian production at other positions

Quarterback is the position Canada has not solved. Other positions have produced.

Tyson Philpot reached 1,000 receiving yards in eight games on July 31, in Montreal’s 34-13 win over Ottawa. He tied the CFL record held by Hal Patterson in 1956 and Terry Greer in 1983, and he is the first Canadian to do it. Philpot has 64 catches for 1,023 yards and four touchdowns. His previous career high was 804 yards in 12 games.

Matthew Bergeron signed a four-year extension with Atlanta worth $96 million with $60 million guaranteed. The deal runs through 2030 and puts the Victoriaville, Quebec native among the highest-paid guards in the NFL. Atlanta drafted him 38th overall in 2023 out of Syracuse. He has started 49 games.

“This means the world,” Bergeron said. “I’m from Canada, and the second I got to Atlanta everybody welcomed me with open arms.”

What happens next

Kurtis Rourke’s first game action in nearly two years comes August 13 against Tennessee. NFL teams cut to 53 players after the third preseason week. If he makes the roster, a Canadian quarterback is on an NFL team for the first time since Palmer.

Nathan Rourke’s return date is open.