San Francisco 49ers
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Jauan Jennings is a free agent.
T
he San Francisco 49ers have a lot of work to do this offseason. Finishing 12-5 and returning to the playoffs in 2025 after a one season absence, the 49ers still struggled to be a real threat for a Super Bowl title, losing several key players due to injuries. Seeing their season end in the divisional playoff round, the 49ers have a lot of questions to answer this offseason if they want to return to being true Super Bowl contenders next season.
One of those questions is what to do at the wide receiver position. Expected to release Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers are already down another key player heading into the new campaign while also needing to see if third year wideout, Ricky Pearsall, can live up to his first round draft selection. But the 49ers also need to figure what to do about a player who has been a consistent producer for them over the last few seasons– Jauan Jennings. Set to hit free agency, the 49ers could opt to re-sign him, but a potentially hefty price tag could force the 49ers to look elsewhere. And if that is the case, ESPN predicts that Jennings will still stay in the NFC West– but for a team that the 49ers have a heated rivalry with.
Could the Seahawks Be a Team to Watch for Jennings?
In an article written by ESPN on predicting on free agent signing for each team, NFL writer Aaron Schatz predicted the Seattle Seahawks as a team that could bring in Jennings in free agency. With Rashid Shaheed a free agent, and the Seahawks wanting to continue being a run-first offense, signing Jennings could accomplish two things for the Seahawks.
“This signing would achieve a couple of goals for the Seahawks,” Schatz said. “It would give them a receiver to replace Shaheed if he leaves in free agency. Furthermore, Jennings is a strong run blocker and the Seahawks still want to be a run-first offense.”
Jennings has been on the 49ers since they selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. And while the early portion of his career saw him produce in a limited capacity, Jennings has become much more of a focal point for the 49ers in recent seasons, finishing with a career high of 77 catches for 975 yards in 2024 before ending the ’25 season as the 49ers’ most consistent receiver once again and catching a career high of nine touchdowns. Now, Jennings enters free agency as one of the top receivers available and could be in a for a big payday.
Jennings’ Fit in Seattle
Spotrac predicts that Jennings will sign a contract that will pay him roughly $22 million per season, a number that is probably too high for the 49ers. And while the team would love to have him back, Jennings going to Seattle makes sense for multiple reasons– most notably his connection to the coaching staff.
“New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is familiar with Jennings from his time in San Francisco, and adding Jennings would bring the benefit of taking away from an important division rival,” Schatz wrote. “Jennings had nine touchdowns last season but was even better in 2024, when he ranked 12th in ESPN’s receiver scores.”
Losing Jennings would be big blow to the 49ers though and unless they have a clear-cut replacement plan in place, bringing him back is the best plan of attack.