{"id":841057,"date":"2026-03-29T15:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841057\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T15:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:10:14","slug":"49ers-free-agency-rumors-juan-jennings-remains-unsigned-in-the-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841057\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers Free Agency Rumors: Juan Jennings remains unsigned in the NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings still waiting for that $22 million deal, or is he being humbled?<\/p>\n

Jennings was due to make an estimated $7 million in 2025<\/a>. He demanded a new deal or a trade<\/a>. The 2025 offseason dispute ended with Jennings getting a pay bump, with the intention of betting on himself in the 2026 offseason. In 2025, he helped the 49ers stay competitive while many of his teammates were injured. A 2026 return wasn\u2019t out of the question despite the 2025 contract drama, but it was still ambiguous. It was speculated on the open market that he could make $22 million<\/a>, with one projection saying he could make more<\/a> on a two-year deal than Deebo Samuel (who is also a free agent, by the way).<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it. There hasn\u2019t been anything to suggest Jennings is going anywhere, whether it\u2019s the 49ers or one of the other 32 teams. The 2026 league year began on March 11. This was published on March 28. If he was going to get $22 million per year, it\u2019s safe to assume that would have happened a week (or two) ago. So that salary might not be happening.<\/p>\n

Jennings remains without a team. In the meantime, the 49ers seemingly planned for a roster without him. They signed Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency to what are effectively one-year deals. They have Ricky Pearsall and Demarcus Robinson from last year; the former, we can only hope, improves. And don\u2019t forget, Jordan Watkins showed some great stuff in the preseason last year that indicated he might have a bright future.<\/p>\n

Is there any room for Jennings on this team? Well, obviously not at $22 million. The 49ers wouldn\u2019t be able to figure that number into their salary cap responsibilities. Even if it were for a \u201cpaltry\u201d $7 or $8 million, could the 49ers get anything out of him? Would Jennings even want to come back? That salary number caused disputes in 2025, and the current market suggests he may not be worth the estimated three times that amount.<\/p>\n

The one thing the 49ers shouldn\u2019t want is to have Jennings back begrudgingly. As in, they get him a deal, and things like his confrontation with Kyle Shanahan<\/a> last year become frequent. Disgruntled or not, the 49ers would not have made it to the NFC Divisional without Jennings on the roster. And I\u2019m not just talking about his crazy, perfect passer rating that came in handy against the Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the other issue: if the 49ers bring Jennings back, he most likely bumps Watkins, who is a cheaper option. Watkins\u2019 development either takes a hit or he beats Jennings (or someone else) out in training camp.<\/p>\n

Why would they even want to consider Jennings? They don\u2019t call him Third and Jauan for nothing. Add in how the 49ers seem never to shake the injury bug, and there\u2019s an opportunity he\u2019d get playing time at some point in the season while the 49ers juggle bodies.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s probably where Jennings might be headed. After the 2026 NFL Draft, teams will be more solidified with their roster, and their need for a wide receiver becomes apparent. That\u2019s one opportunity for Jennings. Is it a $22 million-per-year opportunity? We\u2019ll see. The other is during the season. The 49ers aren\u2019t the only team dealing with injuries over the course of an NFL season, and this is exactly how Kendrick Bourne got signed in 2025 for a year. Bourne filled in, kept the 49ers afloat, and got himself a new deal with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.<\/p>\n

The 49ers could prevent that situation from happening by keeping Jennings on the roster and letting the wide receiver room fight for playing time.<\/p>\n

Of course, we don\u2019t know Jennings\u2019 side of current events either. Was he offered deals by other teams, but turned down? Did he decide to take a year off? Is he holding out for a specific amount that teams have flatly said isn\u2019t happening? There\u2019s no way he made it this far without a single pitch from another team. It is interesting that, with the time that has passed, we haven\u2019t heard of any possible destinations. As a Jennings fan, I find it disappointing that he even has to wait until those two deadlines I mentioned above.<\/p>\n

Overall, I wonder if there\u2019s still a role in San Francisco for Jauan Jennings. It seems like the team has moved on and planned as if a return isn\u2019t in the cards. While they could draft a wide receiver<\/a>, it\u2019s a more affordable (and future-proof) option than bringing back Jennings in for a year or two.<\/p>\n

Do you think there\u2019s still room for Jennings on this roster, or do you think that ship has sailed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings still waiting for that $22 million deal, or is he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":841058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,52326,52067],"class_list":{"0":"post-841057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-free-agency","11":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-roster"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116313104473709999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}