The San Francisco 49ers brought in Ogbonnia Okoronkwo for a defensive end tryout on Sunday, a sign the team is still searching for bodies as injuries keep thinning its front. The veteran edge rusher was one of three defensive ends evaluated, alongside Andre Carter II and Xavier Thomas.
Okoronkwo is the most established name in the group. He has 17.0 sacks in 81 career games and has spent time with the Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. He also played one game for the Philadelphia Eagles last season before a season-ending triceps tear cut his year short.
His résumé gives the 49ers a clear reason to look closely. Okoronkwo posted 3.0 sacks in 16 games for the Cleveland Browns in 2023, and that kind of production is exactly what teams chase when the edge rush starts to run thin during camp. The tryout also shows San Francisco is casting a wider net rather than waiting for one answer to emerge.
That search matters because the 49ers have already signed Titus Leo, but the need has not eased. They are still bringing in more defensive ends because the injuries on the defensive line are stacking up, and that leaves the team evaluating short-term help while trying not to fall behind on preparation. Carter, who went undrafted out of Army in 2023, has only 0.5 sacks in three games with the Las Vegas Raiders after making his NFL debut with the Minnesota Vikings, while Thomas was a fifth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals who flashed 2.5 sacks and 10 tackles in 208 defensive snaps as a rookie before his path thinned out.
What happens next is still the question that matters most. The tryout puts Okoronkwo in position for immediate consideration, but it does not yet say whether San Francisco will add him. For now, the 49ers have made one thing plain: they are not treating the defensive line problem as one signing away.
