San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings is staying with his current team, signing a two-year deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the news, noting it’s effectively a one-year extension.
Jennings skipped the first week of OTAs but returned to practice today. In hindsight, that was a sign the two sides agreed to a deal. A restricted free agent, the 49ers tendered him at the second-round level. That was worth $4.89 million. This deal pays him more but it a relatively low cost in a hot receiver market.
Though behind RB Christian McCaffrey, TE George Kittle, and WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel as an option in the 49ers’ offense, Jennings has produced key plays in big moments. A seventh-round pick in 2021, he’s caught 78 passes for 963 yards and seven touchdowns in three years with the team. In 2023, he caught just 19 passes and one touchdown but came up large on possession downs.
He also played a key role in the team’s Super Bowl run, catching five passes for 61 yards in a Divisional Round win over the Green Bay Packers while hauling in a 21-yard touchdown pass in the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
A team-first player, Jennings’ size and blocking ability are also assets. With the 49ers needing to pay Aiyuk, and next year QB Brock Purdy, in addition to drafting Florida’s Ricky Pearsall in the first round, the door seemed open for Jennings to be dealt by the 49ers. But they’ve shown the willingness and ability to retain most of their top talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Aiyuk is next in line for a deal, angling to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers at over $30 million per season.
If the Steelers are looking to add a wide receiver later this summer, and presumably they are, Jennings won’t be their man.
