San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings has been sidelined by a calf injury for most of training camp and the entire preseason, putting his Week 1 status in doubt. The veteran is entering the final year of the two-year contract he signed in 2024 and is seeking a new deal.
Some speculate that Jennings' contract situation could be tied to his recovery timeline—that his calf could miraculously recover if a new agreement is reached. However, the 49ers have pushed back on that narrative.
"Both things can be true," general manager John Lynch said. "He wants a new contract, and he's got a hurt calf. So I think people want to assume one or the other. Both things can be true."
Lynch also confirmed that Jennings requested a trade, though the 49ers have no intention of moving him.
According to Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, Jennings' contract dispute may be influencing his lack of participation in practice. While the injury itself might be real, the severity is unclear, and Jennings might be hesitant to return without more financial security.
So, what is Jennings asking for? Kawakami shed light on the situation during an appearance on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game.
"What you hear—not from the camp but from NFL circles—is that it's high," Kawakami explained. "It's above 20 (million dollars annually), is what I've heard, and maybe a lot above 20 a year, to put him in the top 20 or so of receivers, in that realm. The 49ers have done it before with Brandon Aiyuk, so there is precedent for lifting a guy way up on the higher ranks of the receiver salaries."
On the other hand, San Francisco appears unwilling to meet those demands.
"What I've heard from the 49ers side, in the air on that one, is that they don't want to do anything," Kawakami continued. "They are negotiating. I think there have been numbers exchanged, but they just redid his deal last year, and that's before he got [975] yards receiving [in 2024]. That's before he was the first receiver, basically, last year when Aiyuk got hurt. That's before a lot of other things happened."
The 49ers obviously don't want to go through this with Jennings every year, and appear to be standing firm, knowing that the wideout is under contract for the 2025 season.
"If you ask me what the dollars are, I would tell you, just from my opinion, is that it's not close. It's not even close," Kawakami added. "Now, at some point, you've got to either make a deal or not, and the 49ers want him on the field on Week 1.
"And Jauan Jennings probably doesn't want to go on injury reserve or get deactivated or whatever could happen in the next few days if he's not practicing. But everything I've heard is that he wants a lot, and the 49ers are offering very little."
Jennings holds some leverage due to San Francisco's injury-depleted wide receiver group. With Brandon Aiyuk still working his way back from ACL and MCL injuries, Jauan Jennings is expected to play a key role against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 on September 7, especially with several other receivers unlikely to be available. However, that leverage diminishes with each passing day as the regular season approaches, and the possibility of missing games further complicates matters for Jennings and his camp.
While the 49ers want Jennings available for the 2025 season, Kawakami isn't certain the team views him as a receiver they want to pay big money to keep around for 2026 and beyond.
He added, "It's not close, and it's pretty clear it's not close still."