San Francisco 49ers fans were able to breathe a huge sign of relief with wide receiver Jauan Jennings at practice on Monday.
Had he not been out there, the Niners may have been forced to go nuclear on Jennings.
Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard noted on social media prior to Jennings participating in practice that San Francisco could have cut or suspended him had he not eventually shown up to practice.
Those obviously would have been extreme measures, but given the protracted standoff between the two sides over a contract extension desired by Jennings and his camp complicated by a calf injury that may or not have had something to do with his contract desires, the 49ers may have felt they had no other options with Jennings.
Jennings certainly had a fair amount of leverage in this situation as San Francisco's wide receiver situation is less than ideal, but if the 49ers were adamant they did not want to pay him, then perhaps Jennings saw the writing on the wall and realized he was going to have to play.
Without Jennings on the field, the Niners would have been left with second-year pro Ricky Pearsall as their top wide receiver, which would not have been a great situation. Assuming Jennings is able to play on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, he and Pearsall will be the team's top two players at wide receiver, which should allow everyone to take a bit of a deep breath.
However, even if Jennings does play for the 49ers this season without a new contract, do not expect him to be back next season. A Niners insider believes this will almost certainly be the last season that Jennings plays in San Francisco as he will try to seek a big contract with another team in free agency.
That is why Jennings needs to play.
Even though he wants a new deal now, he does not want to prevent himself from getting a big deal after this season by holding out or not playing as much as he can. He proved he can have a very good year in 2024, but if he backs it up with another solid season, that could earn him much more in free agency.
All that matters for right now, though, is Jennings is back on the field and looks like he is going to play.
That is great news that will make everyone sleep much better this week.