49ers Lose DE Sam Okuayinonu to IR, Add Khalid Kareem for Depth

The 49ers thinned out an already-thin pass rush on Saturday, placing defensive end Sam Okuayinonu on injured reserve with a foot injury. To fill the gap, they finalized the signing of veteran DE Khalid Kareem off the Falcons' practice squad. It's a quiet roster shuffle on paper, but one that matters for anyone watching San Francisco's front seven closely.

Okuayinonu wasn't a household name, but he was a useful rotational piece — 74 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles across 31 games over the last two seasons, plus six tackles in two playoff appearances a year ago. Losing that depth right before the opener stings, especially with the club still waiting on its biggest name up front.

Kareem now slots into a defensive end room alongside Nick Bosa, Keion White and Romello Height. That's a top-heavy group, and it gets more interesting the moment you factor in Bosa's health.

The Bosa Question

Bosa is working back from a torn ACL, and the team hasn't given any definitive word on whether he'll suit up for Week 1. That's the domino here. If Bosa is limited or held out, the 49ers lean harder on White, Height and now Kareem — and the pass-rush production distributes in ways that are hard to project cleanly.

For fantasy purposes, none of these depth moves changes much in redraft leagues. Okuayinonu wasn't a rosterable IDP asset in most formats, and Kareem is a practice-squad pickup, not a plug-and-play starter. This is a depth story, not a fantasy needle-mover — yet.

The actionable piece is Bosa. If you're in a deep IDP league, keep tabs on his opener designation before you lock a lineup, because his snap count sets the ceiling for everyone else in that room. Hold Bosa if you have him and watch the injury report closely. Kareem and Okuayinonu can stay on the wire.