MELBOURNE, Australia — Wanted: NFL edge rusher. Must have up-to-date passport.That’s essentially the predicament the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in Wednesday when defensive end Sam Okuayinonu broke his foot during practice. The team wasn’t exactly teeming with edge players to begin with, and to make matters worse, it was leaving for Australia later that night.The 49ers needed someone who both knew Raheem Morris’ defense and could get himself to Melbourne immediately. Which led them to Khalid Kareem, a 6-foot-4 defensive end who’d spent the last two seasons under Morris with Atlanta and was on the Falcons’ practice squad at midweek. Best of all, the Falcons are playing in Madrid later this season, which meant Kareem’s passport was in order — although it was at the Falcons’ team facility when the 49ers signed him off Atlanta’s practice squad.“I had to call them at 11 o’clock at night — ‘Hey, I need to grab my passport,’” Kareem said Monday. “I was in Atlanta the last two years, so they helped me out. It was, ‘Man, we hate to see you leave, but congrats on the opportunity.’”The vibe in Melbourne before the NFL's first game thereVic Tafur and Matt BarrowsAs Kareem, 28, explained, his whirlwind journey actually began a few days earlier, on Aug. 31, when he was cut by the New York Giants. Two days later, the Falcons signed him to their practice squad, and one day after that, the 49ers came calling with a big request — drop everything and get to Australia.While the 49ers flew on a jumbo charter flight complete with 84 lie-flat seats, Kareem flew commercially — first to the Bay Area on Thursday morning to get a physical, and then on an 11:20 p.m. flight that night out of San Francisco.Whereas his new teammates had a day to adjust to the 17-hour time difference, Kareem landed Saturday morning and was whisked to his first 49ers practice.He said he felt surprisingly good despite the long flights. Though he didn’t have the extra-long, lie-flat seats that Trent Williams and Osa Odighizuwa enjoyed, the 49ers hooked him up with a lie-flat-ish seat on the United Airlines flight.“It was cool,” he said. “I don’t think I’d ever sat in one of those before. But being my size, it’s still a little too small. My feet were mashed up against the wall. So I was kind of tucked in the fetal position, trying to sleep.”He said the 49ers also gave him a plan for the flight — everything from how much he should drink to when he should sleep to how often he should put on a pair of blue-light glasses.“I had a little flight kit — melatonin and a hydration package just to help me sleep, so that when I got here, I could perform,” he said. “When I got here, it was a pretty smooth transition.”Back in Atlanta, his former Falcons teammates sent texts wondering why he didn’t show up for practice. And as news of the transaction began to come out Friday evening, others congratulated him on joining the 49ers’ active roster.“It’s crazy,” Kareem said. “Because all my friends are like, ‘Congrats! Congrats! Are you on your way?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m already here.’”Odds and ends• Before Monday’s practice at AAMI Park in Melbourne, coach Kyle Shanahan said Okuayinonu previously had a plate inserted in his foot, and that he broke the same foot in last week’s practice.“He’s going to have to get surgery,” he said. “It was a bad injury. Hopefully we can get him back later in the year, but it was a real tough loss. I hurt for Sam O., I hurt for our team, but hopefully we can take care of business and he can come back later in the year.”The defensive ends who practiced Monday: Kareem, Keion White, Romello Height and Ogbo Okoronkwo, who could be elevated from the practice squad for the upcoming game. Nick Bosa said he plans to practice Tuesday.• Several previously injured 49ers were on the field at the start of Monday’s session. That included starting cornerback Renardo Green, Height, receiver Jacob Cowing, backup left tackle Vederian Lowe, special teams ace Luke Gifford and rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton.The list of participants also included tight end George Kittle, who appears to be trending toward playing this week. Christian McCaffrey was on the field and did some warmup work but did not practice. The only absentee was Bosa, who is easing back into practice following a bout with tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee.What the 49ers' roster moves mean for game vs. RamsVic Tafur and Matt Barrows• Cowing’s return following a groin injury suggests he’ll return punts at the upcoming game at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Jordan Watkins and Deebo Samuel also took turns returning punts Monday.• Shanahan said the 14 extra-long lie-down seats on the team’s charter went to the starters on the offensive and defensive lines. That left five more seats.“So I gave it (based on) seniority,” he said. “No one came and complained about it to me, so hopefully I succeeded as well as I could.”• The 49ers chose their team captains for 2026 … and it’s the same group from 2025: