49ers place Sam Okuayinonu on IR, sign DE Khalid Kareem ahead of Australia trip
The 49ers are shoring up their edge depth before the season's longest road trip. San Francisco placed defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (foot) on injured reserve, making him ineligible until at least Week 5, and signed defensive end Khalid Kare…
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The 49ers are shoring up their edge depth before the season's longest road trip. San Francisco placed defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (foot) on injured reserve, making him ineligible until at least Week 5, and signed defensive end Khalid Kareem to replace him on the 53-man roster, per the 49ers beat.
Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch): #49ers, who aren't teeming with edge rushers, placed Sam Okuayinonu (foot) on injured reserve. They signed DE Khalid Kareem, 28, a 2020 fifth-round pick who has made one career start and collected one sack.
Kareem, 28, is a 2020 fifth-round pick of the Bengals who has made one career start and collected one sack. He played the past two seasons under 49ers coach Raheem Morris, giving San Francisco a defensive end who already knows the system — and who is now being flown roughly 10,000 miles from Atlanta to Melbourne to join the club for next Thursday night's opener against the Rams, per Lombardi.
The IR move leaves the 49ers thinner on the edge — a group that wasn't teeming with rushers to begin with, per Eric Branch — as they head into a Week 1 matchup against a Rams offense that added Myles Garrett this offseason. Kareem's familiarity with Morris' scheme helps soften the blow, but the 49ers will need their remaining edge rushers to hold up in the opener while Okuayinonu works toward a Week 5 return.