Former Notre Dame defensive lineman Khalid Kareem is back in the NFL mix this week after the San Francisco 49ers signed him off the Atlanta Falcons practice squad on Friday.
Irish fans who still follow the 2019 team captain now have a new reason to keep an eye on the 49ers. Kareem is flying to Melbourne, Australia, to join San Francisco for its Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
“The 49ers are signing OLB Khalid Kareem off the Falcons’ practice squad. He’s on his way to Melbourne ahead of their opener against the Rams. He’s 28, former Bengals draft pick who spent the last two years with Atlanta,” Greg Auman of Fox Sports reported.
Kareem, a Detroit native, spent four seasons in South Bend from 2016 to 2019. He finished his college career with 26 starts and more than 100 tackles, including a senior year that earned him a captain’s “C.”
As a senior he started all 13 games, posted 46 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, and was viewed as one of the most reliable players on that Notre Dame defense.
The 6-foot-4, 268-pounder has spent most of his six NFL seasons on the defensive line, even though the 49ers added him as an outside linebacker.
San Francisco needed help after defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu hurt his foot in practice Wednesday and stayed behind when the team left for Australia.
“DL Khalid Kareem, whom was on the Falcons practice squad, is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne this morning, per source. The plan is for the 49ers to sign Kareem after DL Sam Okuayinonu did not make the trip to Australia due to a foot injury sustained in practice on Wednesday,” Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote on X.
The 49ers later made the injury official.
“DL Sam Okuayinonu (foot) has been downgraded to OUT for the Week 1 game against the Rams, the 49ers announced,” Maiocco reported.
Okuayinonu had been questionable earlier in the week. Once the club decided he could not play, the roster needed another body on the edge.
That left San Francisco thin. Nick Bosa is working back from an ACL tear and has been dealing with knee tendinitis. Third-round pick Romello Height is managing an ankle injury. Keion White was the only healthy defensive end on the roster before Friday.
Kareem knows the scheme. He spent the last two seasons in Atlanta under Raheem Morris, who coached the Falcons in 2024 and 2025 and is now the 49ers defensive coordinator.
“Raheem Morris has enjoyed stocking up on defenders with long arms. Like Jaden Dugger, new DE/OLB Khalid Kareem has a 7-foot wingspan. He played under Morris past two seasons so 49ers get a player with system familiarity,” David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard wrote.
That length was a big part of his game at Notre Dame, too. Irish coaches used him as a disruptive edge presence who could set the edge and chase down plays from behind.
In two years with the Falcons, Kareem appeared in six games and recorded 11 tackles. He has also played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears since the Bengals took him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
His NFL totals stand at 41 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.
Notre Dame followers who remember his senior-year production will recognize the same traits the 49ers are hoping to get on short notice: size, arm length and familiarity with a demanding defensive system.
The international opener against the Rams will be a tough first test. San Francisco is asking a veteran who has bounced around the league to step in after a long flight and limited practice time.
For Irish alums, the story is simpler. One of their former captains is getting another shot, this time on the other side of the world, in a 49ers uniform.
