Signing with a new NFL team can be exciting for a journeyman, no matter what the team is.
In this case, though, the new team for Khalid Kareem is the San Francisco 49ers — and they’re playing their Week 1 game of the 2026 NFL season in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams.
That’s quite the trip to join a new team.
Kareem has been well-traveled in an NFL career that began after his time at Notre Dame, and it’s a career that did include a stop not far from the Fighting Irish with the Indianapolis Colts.
The 49ers haven’t been the healthiest team in recent years, so Kareem could have a chance to stick around. His signing was part of the official NFL transactions report on Saturday.
Khalid Kareem Career Timeline
Kareem was a talented college player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Originally from the state of Michigan, Kareem played for Notre Dame from 2016 through 2019.
In his third season there, he had 10.5 tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks.
Then in 2019, his final season, Kareem had another 10.0 tackles for loss, with 5.5 sacks.
The Cincinnati Bengals took the 6-foot-4 defensive lineman in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He spent his first two seasons with the Bengals, playing 23 games in total and making 28 tackles, including one sack.
He then joined the Colts in 2022 and appeared in four regular season games, ending up with just a single tackle.
Kareem went to the Bears in 2023 and played in one game.
He spent the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, although that included just two games in 2024 and four games in 2025.
In all, Kareem has played 34 NFL games and recorded a single sack, with a total of three tackles for loss.
He’s 28 years old and doing his best to hang on in the league. His latest chance will come with San Francisco.
How Khalid Kareem Fits 49ers
Kareem is expected to play as a defensive end in the 49ers’ base 4-3 defense.
The 49ers have Keion White and Nick Bosa slated to be their two starters on the edge. They also drafted Romello Height in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Kareem is listed by the depth chart website OurLads as the backup right defensive end to Bosa.
Bosa has certainly dealt with injury troubles throughout his career, so it’s good for the 49ers to keep adding depth in their pass-rushing group.
The ‘Niners also have Mykel Williams on the PUP and Sam Okuayinonu and K.J. Henry on IR from their defensive end group.
Kareem knows what it’s like to be an NFL journeyman at this point, and joining yet another team is just how he has come to experience the league. A trip to Australia just comes along with it this time.
Ex-Colts, Notre Dame Defender Signs With 49ers