The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to bounce back from the disaster that was their 2024 season and return to the playoffs, but just as they did all of last season, they're dealing with injuries to key players.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, right tackle Dominick Puni and safety Malik Mustapha, just to name a few, are currently injured and will miss Week 1 versus the Seattle Seahawks. In addition, wide receiver Jauan Jennings has a calf issue, and he could also be ruled out for Week 1.
Then there is the matter of Jennings' contract dispute. He is looking for a sizable contract extension right now, and it is believed to be one reason he hasn't participated in practice in a while.
Tim Kawakami, a veteran journalist who covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Standard, went on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game and revealed the type of pay Jennings is demanding on an extension.
"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."
It seems as if a key 49ers starter demanding a big, new contract extension is an annual rite of summer. Last year, it was Aiyuk who held in during training camp before he finally got a four-year, $120 million deal. In 2023, Bosa held out until getting a five-year, $170 million extension, and the year before that, wide receiver Deebo Samuel asked to be traded before accepting a three-year extension.
Kawakami said that the Niners aren't caving in to Jennings' desired dollar amount.
"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 reporter added that while the team wants him to play in Week 1, the two sides are "not even close" to an agreement.
Jennings, a seventh-round draft pick in 2020, was used sparingly during his first three seasons, but he showed the ability to come through on key snaps, leading to him being nicknamed "Third and Jauan." Last season, with Aiyuk struggling before suffering a knee injury, Jennings became a featured option and had 77 catches, 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
During the preseason, San Francisco has brought in former Kansas City Chiefs wideouts Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in an attempt to bolster its passing game. Perhaps these moves could give the team a bit of leverage in its negotiations with Jennings.
While Jennings asked to be traded during the offseason, general manager John Lynch has made it clear he has no intention of trading the 28-year-old.
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