49ers promote Cooks to active roster and release Hodge

The 49ers promoted Brandin Cooks from the practice squad to the active roster Thursday and released KhaDarel Hodge to make room, the team announced. San Francisco also signed Malik Turner to the practice squad.

The move changes Cooks' roster status after his September 23 practice-squad signing. An active-roster place gives him a route to game-day selection; it does not announce his snap count or target share. Rohan Chakravarthi of Niners Nation independently reported the promotion Thursday.

Hodge appeared in the first three games and caught one pass for 18 yards, according to the team's announcement. Turner returns to San Francisco after spending time on its practice squad and appearing in three games in 2025. His practice-squad signing remains separate from Cooks' active-roster promotion.

For RSO managers, Cooks' promotion is the actionable change. The team has confirmed where he sits on the roster, while its game-day selection and receiving assignments remain the next evidence needed to judge his role.

Earlier reporting before Thursday’s formal update

San Francisco made a three-part roster adjustment Wednesday ahead of its Week 3 game against Arizona. The 49ers signed defensive lineman Naquan Jones to a one-year contract and placed C.J. West on injured reserve. They also signed veteran receiver Brandin Cooks to the practice squad. The distinction between an active-roster signing and a practice-squad addition matters: Jones joins the 53-man group, while Cooks has not been announced as a game-day player.

West started San Francisco's first two games and recorded five tackles, according to the team's transaction release. Injured reserve removes him from immediate game availability. The club did not state a specific return date in that announcement. Jones arrives with eight starts across 60 regular-season games and 102 tackles over his NFL career. He had been with Minnesota's practice squad after leaving Houston at the end of August. The move gives San Francisco an experienced interior defender as it reworks the group around West's absence.

The receiver transaction serves a different purpose. Cooks, 32, has 734 catches, 9,811 receiving yards and 60 receiving touchdowns across 173 regular-season games, according to the 49ers. Those career figures explain why he is a notable depth addition, but his practice-squad status does not itself promise snaps against the Cardinals. San Francisco would need to use the applicable elevation or signing process before he could play.

The team also signed defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko Jr. to its practice squad and released cornerback Jakob Robinson from that unit. Fehoko had briefly been with the 49ers in August; this is another practice-squad depth move, not an active-roster replacement for West. Jones is the direct active-roster addition in the announced set.

Coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the defensive-tackle depth in a Wednesday team video while previewing Arizona. The official clip provides contemporaneous context for the roster move, though the transaction notice is the source for the precise signings and designations.

The 49ers enter Sunday with a changed defensive-line group and a familiar veteran receiver available through the practice squad. A later elevation or game-day inactive list will show whether Cooks takes any immediate role; Wednesday's announcement does not establish one.