With the deadline for restricted free agents to sign their tenders nearing, the 49ers and Jauan Jennings will move to a different contractual phase. The parties are done with the RFA process thanks to a Wednesday extension agreement.
San Francisco’s No. 3 wide receiver agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth up to $15.4MM, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Of that total, $10.5MM is guaranteed. This effectively represents a one-year bump for Jennings, who was tied to the 49ers via a second-round RFA tender ($4.89MM) for 2024. The team has since announced the deal.
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Considering the uncertain futures of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, this Jennings agreement — coming after the Ricky Pearsall first-round selection — could be important in the 49ers’ post-2024 plan. This will keep a key role player in the fold beyond this season, and with rumors about an Aiyuk-or-Samuel decision beyond 2024 — when Samuel, Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey will be in contract years — Jennings is now in place on a modest deal.
A former seventh-round pick, Jennings has made some pivotal contributions to the 49ers’ cause. He caught two second-half touchdown passes from Jimmy Garoppolo to clinch a Week 18 win over the Rams in 2021, ensuring the 49ers would qualify for the playoffs. Considering what that San Francisco edition still had in the tank, those proved to be crucial regular-season sequences. Jennings is now better known for both throwing and catching a touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII. The auxiliary performer, a high school quarterback who saw some QB action at Tennessee as well, hit McCaffrey on a well-executed trick play in the first half and caught a TD from Purdy to give the 49ers a fourth-quarter lead.
Jennings, 26, plays a key role in the 49ers’ dominant ground attack as well. Pro Football Focus rated the fifth-year veteran as the league’s third-best run-blocking wideout last season. While Jennings rarely works as a starter, he has been a regular during one of the best periods in 49ers history. The 6-foot-3 performer played 489 offensive snaps in 2022 and 361 (in 13 games) last season. Jennings totaled 35 receptions for 416 yards in 2022 and added 265 yards on 19 grabs last season.
The 49ers have Aiyuk going into a fifth-year option season and Samuel signed through 2025 on a three-year, $71.55MM deal. Trade talks involving both players transpired during the draft, with teams believing the 49ers wanted a mid-first-round pick for Aiyuk. Samuel generated talks on Day 2, and the prospect of the 49ers paying the younger player and trading their 28-year-old run-after-catch dynamo has entered the equation. Though, Aiyuk talks have not progressed too far as of yet.
For now, the 49ers have an imposing quartet of receivers to throw at defenses. As Pearsall develops, the team has one of the NFL’s top duos. Jennings, as today’s agreement shows, still factors in prominently to the defending NFC champions’ big picture.
He earned it with his Super Bowl performance
Definitely his 42 yard game in a loss deserves $10M in guarantees….
Stupid post. He also threw a td pass and had several key blocks. Had they won he was the mvp favorite. This is how I know you didn’t watch the game without you telling us you didn’t watch the game. And it’s a $10 mill bonus for a 2 yr deal. And yourcommentisbetter than one made by a corpse. PS a corpse can’t comment. I figured it needed an explanation
Sorry, he threw a TD pass. Maybe we should give Trent Dilfer $50M a year. Trey Burton 2 years $85M any one? At least they won that game….
‘Had they won’. Lol. They didn’t.
My comment was better than yours. And always will be. Even when you’re a corpse…
PS. You can’t just give a guy a nickname he hasn’t earned. Pro Football reference doesn’t give a SINGLE nickname for Jennings. ( AB has 4… Peyton Manning has 3… Brady has 7!… Jennings is a loser case and point.)
PSS His nickname is 3RD AND JAUAN. I’m not explaining that one
Top five blocking receiver in the NFL?
He ranked third according to PFF. Did you read the article? Your comment suggests that you were in the easy reading and writing class, and even if you weren’t, you know that you probably needed to be
I commented when it was still a shorter version of this post, but thanks for your riveting insults.
Maybe Oooof was in the easy reading class. That doesn’t mean you can poke fun. Maybe he was good at math or science? How are kids supposed to catch up by going slower? That will never work. And also he commented before the rest of the article was posted. And another also, Jennings had 19 catches on 30 targets for 265 yards and 1TD in 2023. I guess if he couldn’t block, he would be in the CFL or working at Home Depot in the plumbing section. He has a 68 grade from PFF, so let’s calm down on the blocking WR.
In fairness, SF was a fairly low volume passing offense and Jennings was stuck behind four different guys who got more than 80 targets. A lot of perfectly good receivers would fail to put up numbers on a team with Aiyuk, McCaffrey, Samuel, and Kittle.
Cause PFF is the end all be all lol. Watch him block in the playoffs last year, particularly bullying a GB DB into the sidelines
I really think Jennings is a very underrated WR. He isn’t a number 1 or 2, but if he is your 3rd non-slot guy I think you are in good shape with him. If given more balls thrown his way I think he’d surprise people.
And I hate giving credit the the 49ers as a Packers fan but his playoff performance was inspiring. The energy was there.
This just means that Aiyuk and possibly Deebo are gone. SF is preparing to pay Mr Relevant and they simply can’t afford to pay Kittle, McCaffery, Aiyuk, and Deebo.
Wouldn’t be surprised if both Aiyuk and Deebo are let go at some point. Either traded or free agency