Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Adrian Martinez has signed with the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad, giving the defending Super Bowl champions emergency depth behind a banged-up quarterback room.
The move, announced Wednesday, comes after Seattle ruled out starter Sam Darnold for Sunday’s Week 9 game against the Arizona Cardinals with a quad injury suffered in the loss to the Chicago Bears.
Coach Mike Macdonald described Darnold as week-to-week and said he would not go on injured reserve.
Drew Lock is expected to start, though he has been managing a right elbow issue that kept him out of the previous two games, with rookie Jalen Milroe next in line. Martinez, who worked out for the Ravens earlier in the week, provides another body in the building.
From the 49ers’ vantage point in the NFC West, the signing is more footnote than threat. Martinez spent portions of the 2025 season and the 2026 offseason with San Francisco.
He logged his only regular-season NFL snap with the 49ers—a kneel-down to close out a Week 9 win over the Giants—after bouncing between the practice squad and active roster while Brock Purdy dealt with injuries.
The 49ers signed him to a reserve/futures contract in January, then waived him on Aug. 30 during final roster cuts as they settled on Purdy, Mac Jones, and Kurtis Rourke as their top three.
His NFL résumé remains thin: mostly preseason work and practice-squad duty with the Lions, Jets, and 49ers after going undrafted out of Nebraska and Kansas State in 2023.
What Seattle gains is a dual-threat arm familiar with the Shanahan system.
Martinez’s college production (47 starts, 9,752 passing yards, 51 touchdowns, plus 2,928 rushing yards and 45 rushing scores) and 2024 UFL MVP season with the Birmingham Stallions (6-1 as a starter, championship game MVP) mark him as a proven depth piece.
Seattle’s current offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury, and predecessor Klint Kubiak both worked under Kyle Shanahan, which should accelerate Martinez’s adjustment.
The timing carries mild rivalry intrigue. Seattle won Super Bowl LX 29-13 over the Patriots in February at Levi’s Stadium.
San Francisco already beat the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 5; the clubs do not meet again until Nov. 29 in Week 12. For the 49ers, Martinez’s departure was simply a roster decision.
For the Seahawks, it is short-term insurance while they navigate Darnold’s absence.
In a division that has produced recent champions, practice-squad moves rarely decide games—but they can quietly shape the depth chart when injuries pile up.
