49ers Lose Sam Okuayinonu to Foot Surgery, IR Move Before Week 1
The 49ers DE broke a foot on a bonus practice and lands on IR. A career-year setup with Bosa back is on ice until late 2025 at best.
Foot surgery plus IR wipes out fantasy value in redraft leagues.
- Broke foot on a bonus practice before Australia trip
- Placed on IR; needs surgery, 49ers hope for late return
- Started 12 of 15 games he played last year
- Three sacks in back-to-back seasons
- Khalid Kareem signed off Falcons PS to fill the spot
Sam Okuayinonu's 2025 season is on hold before it ever started. The 49ers defensive end will undergo foot surgery and has been placed on injured reserve after breaking the foot on a bonus practice just before the team flew to Melbourne for its Week 1 opener against the Rams. Kyle Shanahan called it a bad injury and said the best-case outcome is a return later in the season.
The timing stings. Okuayinonu, 28, started 12 of the 15 games he appeared in last year and logged three sacks in each of his past two seasons. With Nick Bosa back from the torn ACL that cost him the final 14 regular-season games, San Francisco was banking on Okuayinonu for a career year opposite him. Instead, they signed Khalid Kareem off the Falcons' practice squad to take the roster spot.
Shanahan explained that Okuayinonu had a plate in the foot from a prior injury, and on the day the team came in for that extra session, he simply stepped down and it broke. That's the kind of freak setback that rarely comes with a clean timeline. Surgery first, then a long rehab, then maybe some game action if the 49ers are still playing meaningful football down the stretch.
The Fantasy Fallout
For IDP managers, this is a straightforward loss. Okuayinonu wasn't a top-tier defensive lineman asset, but a starting role next to Bosa carried real streaming and deeper-league appeal, especially with the sack production he'd flashed. That upside is gone until at least midseason, and even a late return offers no guarantee of the snaps he was projected to see.
Kareem is a name to file away rather than chase — practice-squad additions rarely carry immediate IDP value, and San Francisco's rotation will shake out over the first couple of weeks. If you're in a shallow or standard league, there's nothing here to act on beyond a roster cut.
Bottom line: drop Okuayinonu in any redraft or IDP format. In deep dynasty leagues, you can stash him on IR and revisit if the 49ers signal a late-season activation — but don't hold your breath, and don't hold a bench spot hostage waiting on it.
