The San Francisco 49ers performed a roster reshuffle to ensure they kept some players around after initially leaving them off the 53-man group, and that involved parting with an under-the-radar talent they believe can develop into a contributor.
But as the 49ers look ahead to their primetime season opener with the New York Jets, they have brought defensive end Sam Okuayinonu back into the fold.
The unheralded Okuayinonu, who joined the 49ers' practice squad in January and was signed to a reserve/futures contract a month later, initially made the 53 but was then waived as part off moves to make room for Eric Saubert, Rock Ya-Sin and Ben Bartch.
However, the 49ers made it clear Okuayinonu was part of their plans for 2024, and on Monday they signed him back to the practice squad, waiving offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez. Additionally, the 49ers waived safety Tayler Hawkins with an injury settlement.
The decision to waive Gutierrez means the 49ers have only three tackles on their active roster and practice squad as Trent Williams' contract holdout continues. Jaylon Moore will be set to start at left tackle in Week 1 if Williams is not signed to a reworked deal, with Colton McKivitz to continue to at right tackle. Isaac Alarcon, from the international player pathway, is on the practice squad.
Okuayinonu had a sack in the preseason finale with the Las Vegas Raiders and, speaking last week, defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen explained why the 49ers were so keen to keep him around.
"He flashed, he came to us late, just the way that he explodes," said Sorensen.
"He's still young in our system, so we just saw some flashes and then it started to apply. It stinks he had the setback with the hamstring, so we wanted to see some more game situations with him and more practices because I think you need that just to gain more information and just for him to get better. Just like seeing upside with him and what's in him, we think he can be a good player."
With the 49ers light on defensive end depth, it would be no surprise to see the 49ers test their confidence in the former Tennessee Titan in the regular season by elevating him to the active roster. Okuayinonu is a potential hidden gem with whom 49ers fans could become more familiar in the 2024 campaign.
