The San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday announced the return of a familiar face to their practice squad.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez is rejoining the club after being released when rookie QB Kurtis Rourke’s practice window was opened. Martinez originally signed with San Francisco in late August after final cuts. He saw a quick promotion to the active roster in early October after being elevated for two weeks while Brock Purdy was out with a toe injury.
When Purdy aggravated his toe injury in Week 4, Martinez was promoted to the active roster and spent the next six weeks as Mac Jones’s backup. Martinez was released when Purdy returned in Week 11, but he re-signed with the 49ers’ practice squad.
The club released him when Rourke returned and the New York Jets scooped him up to their practice squad for less than a week before releasing him and making him available to San Francisco.
Martinez gives the 49ers some internal emergency depth in the event one of Purdy or Jones is hurt and they have to scramble to find a second QB. His return may also be an early signal that the team isn’t anticipating activating Rourke which would leave a vacancy at the third QB spot. Rourke’s practice window was opened Dec. 8, which means the club has until Dec. 29 to activate him.
With Martinez available, it was probably the best move for the 49ers to scoop him up before he landed with another practice squad.
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