Jan. 26, 2026, 7:45 p.m. PT

There may not be a more interesting free agent for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason than Jauan Jennings, who hits unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career when the new league year opens in March.

Jennings, 28, is coming off back-to-back seasons as the 49ers’ leading wide receiver. He dealt with an injury and a contract dispute this offseason where he and the 49ers didn’t see eye-to-eye on his value. It made sense in July for the 49ers to hold firm on extending Jennings beyond the final year of his deal since it looked like he was tabbed for No. 3 WR work with Brandon Aiyuk theoretically set to return and Ricky Pearsall stepping into a bigger role in his second season.

Alas, Aiyuk never returned and the injury bug bit Pearsall again, forcing Jennings into a larger role and perhaps a larger free agency payday than the 49ers anticipated him getting.

Let’s run through some of the big questions with Jennings’ free agency:

Jauan Jennings 2025 season recap

Injuries led to a slow start for Jennings who missed Week 3 with a slew of ailments. Through his first four games he had 10 catches for 136 yards and one touchdowns. After those first four games where he had two or fewer catches in three contests, he had just three such games over his final 11. He finished his season with 55 catches for 643 yards and a career-high nine touchdown grabs.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.Potential replacements for Jauan Jennings

It’s unclear how the 49ers would go about finding a new player to fill this spot on their roster. Jennings would’ve ideally been a No. 3 WR, but he’s been thrust into a bigger role because of injury over the past couple of seasons.

Ricky Pearsall would be the ideal replacement in that No. 1 WR spot, but there’s nobody on the roster to feel good about moving up and taking on the versatile WR2 or WR3 job Jennings filled. The 49ers could certainly look to the draft to find that player. In free agency the 49ers could try for a player like Jalen Nailor from Minnesota or Romeo Doubs from Green Bay. If they start going above that level of free agent it’ll get pricier than they might want. If they start going lower they run the risk of landing a player who can’t adequately fill that void.

What free agency contract could Jauan Jennings get?

Spotrac projects Jennings for a three-year deal worth $67,843,323. A $22.6 million average annual value would be a massive uptick in earnings for Jennings whose two-year, $11,890,000 extension is up after this season. It would also be a price well above what San Francisco would likely be willing to spend for the soon-to-be 29-year-old. A deal in the range of three years and $50 million would make more sense.

Should the 49ers re-sign Jauan Jennings?

They should certainly be in the market for Jennings. He’ll explore what the open market looks like and the 49ers will get a good idea of his value and whether he lands in the pool they’re willing to play in. This, however, assumes they’ll add another free agent WR and land a WR early in the 2026 NFL draft. If there’s no other free agent WR who jumps out and they don’t love the WR class on Day 1 or 2 of the draft, they should be willing to open their wallets to retain a player who has become a reliable asset for them as a pass catcher and as a run blocker.

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