Perhaps it's legitimate. Perhaps it's not.
But, it's a little suspicious why wide receiver Jauan Jennings is dealing with a calf injury heading into the preseason that prompted head coach Kyle Shanahan to make some not-so-subtle remarks about how you "got to be delicate" with calf muscles after asked by reporters during a recent presser.
What's clear, though, is Jennings wants a new extension as he enters a contract year and after putting up a career-best 975 receiving yards a season ago as the de facto WR1 on the Niners' injury-plagued depth chart.
And, in light of the injury, he won't be fined $50,000 per day for skipping training camp, nor will he be docked a week's pay for skipping preseason or regular-season games.
All that said, there appears to be a bad, bad impasse going on, and the latest scoop from Bay Area insider Tim Kawakami of the SF Standard didn't exactly shed a positive light.
Latest rumor on Jauan Jennings' contract situation with 49ers isn't good
General manager John Lynch repeatedly stressed how San Francisco keeps its contract talks in-house, so fans haven't garnered much from the executive on that front.
However, poking around, Kawakami shed some light on the situation between Jennings and the 49ers that effectively declares the two parties aren't close, and there's a recent comparison that apparently is influencing the front office's decision-making process.
"I checked around, and my understanding is that the 49ers feel that the timing is all wrong," Kawakami wrote. "They don’t want to give Jennings a big new deal so soon after he signed the last one, a year after giving Brandon Aiyuk a huge contract that the 49ers’ money people almost instantly regretted, and months after signing Brock Purdy to a $265 million deal.
"I’ve heard that the two sides are not close on a new agreement, which shouldn’t be a surprise after the 49ers’ rounds of cost-cutting last spring set up their new deals with [Brock] Purdy, Fred Warner, and George Kittle. Beyond that, the 49ers have clearly indicated that there isn’t much more money to pay out, and certainly not at wide receiver, with Aiyuk’s $30 million a year deal already on the books."
Remember, Kawakami is the same insider who shared what became the Niners' new hardline attitude toward players' contractual demands, and he also cited how both Aiyuk and now-Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel's contract talks angered the front office, especially in retrospect.
Reading between the lines, it seems as if San Francisco has no interest in giving in to Jennings' demands now.
But that puts the 49ers in a precarious spot. While it's not expected Jennings will voluntarily skip out on regular-season games, a disgruntled wideout is the least desirable element to a retooling year, and it isn't as if the Niners' wide receiver room is laden with depth and talent. Second-year pro Ricky Pearsall is essentially the only recognizable name at that position. It's not exactly the best thing with the regular season just weeks away.
The impasse might not be getting ugly, at least to the point it was with Aiyuk a year ago.
Yet it seems to be heading into an acrimonious stage nonetheless.
Hat tip toTaylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area for the find.
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