Wide receiver Jauan Jennings' storyline with the San Francisco 49ers has already been a memorable one.
From a near-castoff seventh-round selection out of Tennessee in the 2020 NFL Draft, which included a rookie year in which he failed to make the Niners' 53-man roster and subsequently spent the season in redshirt mode, to emerging as the third-down "Third and Jauan" weapon in subsequent seasons, and then as San Francisco's leading wide receiver in 2024, Jennings' career arc in the Bay Area has been nothing short of memorable.
And it might be coming to an end sooner than later.
All signs are pointing to 2025 being Jennings' last season donning the red and gold. A free agent to be in 2026, the big-bodied pass catcher made it known he wanted a contract extension after posting 975 yards a season ago, and if those demands couldn't be met, he wanted a trade (depending on which version of general manager John Lynch you ask).
Tack on a calf injury that kept Jennings out of the bulk of training camp and through the entire preseason, combined with the 49ers' shortages at wide receiver, and things have gotten awfully murky as of late.
Still, that doesn't point to Jennings sticking around for much longer.
Latest Jauan Jennings contract rumor says 49ers won't give into his demands
Bay Area insider Tim Kawakami, currently with SF Standard, appeared on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs Show earlier this week (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area), and Kawakami's latest updates indicate an impasse between Jennings and the Niners that doesn't appear to have any sort of resolution whatsoever.
"What you hear -- not from the camp, but from NFL circles -- is that it's high," Kawakami said of Jennings' contractual ask. "It's above [$20 million per year], is what I've heard and maybe a lot above [$20 million] 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 in the higher ranks of the receivers."
Of note, Kawakami was heavily plugged into the Niners' paradigm shift of not giving into top players' contractual demands earlier this offseason, which might have been sparked by Aiyuk's own contract drama a year ago at this time.
San Francisco caved to Aiyuk and now-Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel's extension demands, but it seems as if the front office is putting its foot down with regard to Jennings.
"What I've heard from the 49ers' side is 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. That was before he was [the] first receiver, basically, last year when Aiyuk got hurt. That's before a lot of other things happened."
Impasse.
What happens now between Jauan Jennings and the 49ers?
Jennings is still under contract through 2025, the final season of the two-year extension he signed entering 2024 that can pay him up to $15.4 million. But a good chunk of his potential earnings this year are incentive-based, which opens the door to challenges if the calf injury winds up cutting into his regular-season efforts.
Putting it simply, the Niners don't have to do anything here. They can simply let the receiver play out the final year of his current deal and plan on letting him walk in free agency in 2026, likely aiming to get a compensatory draft pick in return.
Although that does come with the compounded risk of a depleted wide receiver room, not to mention a likely disgruntled Jennings in the locker room.
From Jennings' perspective, the contractual asks totally make sense. His stock value has never been higher coming off a career year. Combine that with entering a contract year, as well as San Francisco's injury-related shortages at the position, and the former Volunteer has a lot of leverage.
That said, staying idle with a calf injury may cut into Jennings' potential earnings this season, and holding out isn't exactly an option either, especially considering current CBA agreements allow teams to fine players one week's full salary for every game missed.
So, from that vantage point, it might be in Jennings' best interests to grace the field and try matching his career-best numbers from 2024 in order to cash in on a lucrative contract in 2026.
It just won't be with the 49ers, though.