Jauan Jennings is Skipping 49ers OTAs

When asked what Jennings' status on the roster is, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, "Similar to what I said about all the guys who aren't here, it's voluntary so there is no status yet."

Grant Cohn | May 22, 2024

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) leaves the field after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs during overtime in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA -- Here's a surprise.

We knew Brandon Aiyuk would skip 49ers OTAs because he wants a contract extension. We didn't know that Jauan Jennings would do the same thing presumably for the same reason.

Jennings did not show up to Week 1 of OTAs. When asked what Jennings' status on the roster is, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, "Similar to what I said about all the guys who aren't here, it's voluntary so there is no status yet."

Jennings was drafted in 2020 -- the same year as Aiyuk. And both of them are eligible for extensions right now. Jennings currently is a restricted free agent, and the 49ers gave him a second-round tender, which he still hasn't signed. A restricted free-agent tender is a one-year deal, and Jennings will have to sign it eventually.

But it's clear that neither Jennings nor Aiyuk wants to play on the final year of their contract because if they get injured, they could lose lots of money in the future. They want financial security. Who doesn't?

They also want to cash in while they're coming off a Super Bowl appearance. Jennings in particular was outstanding against the Chiefs -- he likely would have been the Super Bowl MVP had the 49ers won. So now's a good time to push for an extension.

And the 49ers should seriously consider giving him a new deal. He's an excellent possession receiver, he's a terrific fit with Brock Purdy and he's cheap. He had 19 catches last year. He probably would agree to a two-year deal worth $10 million. The 49ers can afford that much more than they can afford to extend Aiyuk.

Published May 22, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.