The San Francisco 49ers have to put out another fire after wide receiver Jauan Jennings demanded a pay raise or else he will request to be traded.
If San Francisco is forced to trade him, maybe they could reunite the McCaffrey brothers in the process.
Jennings can definitely make the case for why he deserves a raise. He is coming off a strong breakout season in which he proved he can be a team's top wide receiver target.
Yet, it certainly does put the Niners in a tough spot as they try to ensure they have at least a few good healthy receivers to begin the season. Ricky Pearsall is banged up, Brandon Aiyuk may not be ready to start the season, and Demarcus Robinson could be suspended. Simply put, the 49ers need Jennings in a big way.
Yet, let's say the situation becomes untenable and the 49ers are forced to trade him. This would go against the Niners' typical m.o. with players requesting trades, but it is a possibility. Financial realities could make it so.
What if they could get a promising young wide receiver prospect while at the same time reuniting All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey with his brother?
That is what a trade for wide receiver Luke McCaffrey of the Washington Commanders could accomplish.
McCaffrey is entering his second year in the league and is coming off a solid-if-modest rookie season in which he had 18 receptions for 168 yards. Some are already predicting he could have a breakout year in his sophomore campaign.
In a trade with the Commanders, the 49ers could probably get Washington to cough up a mid-round draft pick along with McCaffrey in exchange for Jennings.
Of course, it would be pretty funny if San Francisco sent two of their top receivers from last season to Washington, Deebo Samuel being the other, but we know they have general manager Adam Peters' phone number.
This trade may be fairly unlikely, but it would accomplish general manager John Lynch's goal of making the team younger and cheaper. They would avoid paying Jennings and would be bringing in a 24-year-old in McCaffrey who has a lot of upside.
There are plenty of ideas for where Jennings could land if he does get traded. Washington could seem like an unlikely destination, but it would certainly make things interesting.
Obviously, the 49ers' preference would be to keep Jennings because they truly do need him.
But, if things do not work out then everything could be on the table.
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