With the deadline for restricted free agents to sign their tenders nearing, the 49ers and Jauan Jennings will move to a different contractual phase. The parties are done with the RFA process thanks to a Wednesday extension agreement.
San Francisco’s No. 3 wide receiver agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth up to $15.4M, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Of that total, $10.5M is guaranteed. This effectively represents a one-year bump for Jennings, who was tied to the 49ers via a second-round RFA tender ($4.89M) for 2024. The team has since announced the deal.
Considering the uncertain futures of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, this Jennings agreement — coming after the Ricky Pearsall first-round selection — could be important in the 49ers’ post-2024 plan. This will keep a key role player in the fold beyond this season, and with rumors about an Aiyuk-or-Samuel decision beyond 2024 — when Samuel, Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey will be in contract years — Jennings is now in place on a modest deal.
A former seventh-round pick, Jennings has made some pivotal contributions to the 49ers’ cause. He caught two second-half touchdown passes from Jimmy Garoppolo to clinch a Week 18 win over the Rams in 2021, ensuring the 49ers would qualify for the playoffs. Considering what that San Francisco edition still had in the tank, those proved to be crucial regular-season sequences. Jennings is now better known for both throwing and catching a touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII. The auxiliary performer, a high school quarterback who saw some QB action at Tennessee as well, hit McCaffrey on a well-executed trick play in the first half and caught a TD from Purdy to give the 49ers a fourth-quarter lead.
Jennings, 26, plays a key role in the 49ers’ dominant ground attack as well. Pro Football Focus rated the fifth-year veteran as the league’s third-best run-blocking wideout last season. While Jennings rarely works as a starter, he has been a regular during one of the best periods in 49ers history. The 6-foot-3 performer played 489 offensive snaps in 2022 and 361 (in 13 games) last season. Jennings totaled 35 receptions for 416 yards in 2022 and added 265 yards on 19 grabs last season.
The 49ers have Aiyuk going into a fifth-year option season and Samuel signed through 2025 on a three-year, $71.55M deal. Trade talks involving both players transpired during the draft, with teams believing the 49ers wanted a mid-first-round pick for Aiyuk. Samuel generated talks on Day 2, and the prospect of the 49ers paying the younger player and trading their 28-year-old run-after-catch dynamo has entered the equation. However, Aiyuk talks have not progressed too far as of yet.
For now, the 49ers have an imposing quartet of receivers to throw at defenses. As Pearsall develops, the team has one of the NFL’s top duos. As Wednesday's agreement shows, Jennings still contributes prominently to the defending NFC champions’ big picture.
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