Wide receiver Jauan Jennings might have put himself in a tough spot with the San Francisco 49ers.
Jennings barely participated in training camp before being removed with a calf injury, one that has been somewhat suspect after news of him wanting an extension (or possibly a trade, depending on who you ask) broke. This has led some to believe Jennings' injury was of the "phantom variety," a negotiating ploy that would allow him not to be fined but would rather drive extension talks along.
Subsequent reports indicate Jennings' injury is very much real, and he didn't partake in any preseason action, leading to further questions whether or not he'd be available for the Niners' regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.
Either way, San Francisco has a strong negotiating tactic of its own, one that could wholly derail Jennings' contract situation entering 2025.
Jauan Jennings' contract gives 49ers tremendous power
Extending Jennings is a twofold problem. The 49ers already made it clear they don't want to bend to players' demands as they have in the past (just ask now-Washington Commanders wideout Deebo Samuel), and giving Jennings what he wants and arguably deserves stands in contrast to that.
At the same time, Jennings' presence is almost a necessity now amid a depleted and banged-up Niners wide receiver room, and diminishing the number of offensive weapons isn't usually a smart strategy.
That said, when Jennings inked a two-year extension back in 2024, the final year of the contract was heavily laden with incentives.
As Niners Nation's Kyle Posey pointed out, should the calf injury result in the receiver starting off 2025 on injured reserve, it'd be awfully difficult to reach those benchmarks for heftier pay:
Jauan Jennings has a handful of escalators in his contract this season, per @spotrac:
— Kyle Posey (@KP_Show) August 25, 2025
$36,764 per game active bonus
50% Snaps: $1.5 million
60 Receptions: $666,667
600 Receiving Yards: $666,666
6 Touchdowns: $666,667
Will be tough to reach those if he starts the season on the IR
Starting out on IR would eliminate at least four games from Jennings' 2025 campaign, putting either a massive amount of pressure on him to reach those numbers, or the reality of achieving them would be completely unreasonable.
As such, Jennings should be highly motivated to get back on the field and in fully healthy fashion.
So, if it is a calf injury that's fully keeping him out of practice, it'd merely be a bad break for a receiver who enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024.
But, if Jennings employed the injury as a negotiation tactic, a would-be San Francisco response using an IR designation would derail that ploy in every fashion possible.
Tough. Tough, indeed.