The San Francisco 49ers took on the Los Angeles Chargers in preseason action over the weekend. Following the game, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan gave a somewhat icy response when he was asked about wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
The question was regarding the much-discussed calf injury Jennings has purportedly been dealing with for some time. The injury may well be real, but there has been plenty of speculation that the injury could be a negotiating tactic as Jennings tries to get a new contract.
Shanahan was asked whether Jennings is in jeopardy of missing Week 1 due to the injury, and he had this to say: "If it doesn't heal, yes. I expect him to be back, I think he should be back from it. But, you never know with calves."
It was a curt and somewhat icy response that reporter Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area described as "prickly" on the most recent episode of the 49ers Talk podcast.
His comments were somewhat reminiscent of the ones he made a few weeks back about Jennings. He was asked whether the calf injury could be contract-related and said the reporter would have to ask Jennings about that before saying, "Gotta be delicate with those calves."
San Francisco has been trying to figure out their wide receiver situation for a while now with all of the various issues they have had. The Jennings situation has been the most fraught, given the contract situation, the calf situation, and the fact that he's the offense's best receiver right now.
The 49ers made some moves to address their wide receiver deficiencies like trading for Skyy Moore, but without Jennings, things could look pretty bleak come Week 1.
There is reporting out there the Niners could put Jennings on IR to begin the season as the front office grows frustrated with the contract and injury situation. One hopes it does not reach that point, but after the drawn-out saga with Brandon Aiyuk last year, it seems San Francisco does not want to get pushed around by another wide receiver.
These icy comments from Shanahan seem to reveal that there is some frustration on how this whole situation with Jennings has unfolded. The head coach clearly wants his top receiver out on the field, and he does not like the fact it's not the case, no matter what the reasons may be.
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