Recent rumors suggest the San Francisco 49ers have zero interest in trading wide receiver Jauan Jennings despite a contract standoff and paralleling trade request, should no extension get done.
Those same rumors do mention teams calling the Niners to see if their leading wideout from a season ago would be available, though, and general manager John Lynch would at least have to hear out offers to see if any would be too good to pass up.
Turns out, another team now needs another capable receiver in desperate fashion.
The Los Angeles Chargers received shocking news this week amid the start of training camp, as veteran wide receiver Mike Williams is going to retire at 30 years old after a solid career was regularly interrupted by injuries:
Sources: Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams’ agent Tory Dandy informed the team last night that, after eight seasons, his client is retiring from the NFL. Williams walks away from the game at age 30. pic.twitter.com/f97JzkcYHj
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
Williams' decision certainly puts head coach Jim Harbaugh's squad in a bind, especially so late in the offseason, leaving relatively few options on the market out there.
It's now feasible, however, for the Bolts to add themselves to the list of teams possibly interested in engineering a trade with San Francisco for Jennings' services.
Chargers have to now be in mix for Jauan Jennings
Again, the 49ers probably won't trade Jennings. Their wide receiver room isn't deep or proven enough entering 2025, namely with No. 1 wideout Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from last year's ACL and MCL tears.
But, if the Niners were interested in trading Jennings, an AFC team would be much more preferable, and it's hard not to envision a player of Jennings' ilk thriving in coordinator Greg Roman's run-first offense. After all, Jennings has an elite reputation of being a top-notch perimeter blocker who has no issues doing the proverbial dirty work and getting under other defenders' skin.
Additionally, while L.A. boasts a modest $27 million in cap space for 2025, it's projected to lead the entire NFL in 2026 with over $108 million available, meaning a subsequent post-trade extension could be signed with little issue.
While it's hard to determine the would-be return compensation, perhaps the best San Francisco could ask for in exchange might be a conditional fourth-round pick from Los Angeles that could turn into a Round 3 pick, should Jennings meet certain performance criteria.
In Williams' absence, and provided such a trade actually happens, the context is surely there.