The San Francisco 49ers made roster moves as they gear up for their Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets. The team re-signed defensive end Sam Okuayinonu to the practice squad and, to make room, waived offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez.
Okuayinonu initially made the 49ers' 53-man roster but was waived on August 28. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2022 with the Tennessee Titans.
"He flashed for us," defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said of Okuayinonu last week. "He came to us late, and just the way that he explodes. 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. But just like seeing upside with him and what's in him, we think that he can be a good player."
During his time with the Titans, Okuayinonu appeared in six games, recording 11 tackles, a quarterback hit, and half a sack.
Additionally, San Francisco reached an injury settlement with safety Taylor Hawkins, who rejoined the team on injured reserve after previously clearing waivers.
The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown.
Okuayinonu (6-1, 269) originally entered the NFL after signing with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. Throughout his two-year NFL career with the Tennessee Titans (2022-23), he has appeared in six games and registered 11 tackles and 0.5 sack between the team's active roster and practice squad. In 2023, Okuayinonu signed a Reserve/Future contract with Tennessee on January 10 and was waived by the team on August 31. Okuayinonu originally signed with the 49ers on February 13, 2024 and was waived by the team on August 29.
A 26-year-old native of Lowell, MA, Okuayinonu attended the University of Maryland (2019-21), where he appeared in 29 games and registered 103 tackles and 7.5 sacks.
Gutierrez (6-5, 308) originally signed to the team's practice squad on August 28.
