With NFL training camps officially opening up across the league, the San Francisco 49ers’ braintrust of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan had to know they would get questions about Jauan Jennings during their first media session of the summer.
One of the true success stories of the 49ers’ player development system, going from a seventh round pick to a blocking WR3 to a legit offensive weapon, Jennings now wants to get paid for his hard work and is seemingly fine with getting that check from any of the NFL’s 31 other teams if the 49ers aren’t willing to play ball.
Asked about the Jennings situation, Lynch let it be known that the Tennessee product has reported to camp but won’t delve too deeply into the contract negotiation details.
“Jauan reported, took his physical yesterday. We anticipate, I won’t speak for Jauan, but had a good visit with him. Anticipate him being out there,” Lynch explained. “You guys know our feelings on J.J. He embodies what, you know, what we think a Niner’s all about. Plays the right way, and we love him. And I think all that stuff. We’re not going to get into the contract talks and all that. That takes care of itself, but you know, we love him and he’s here.”
Shanahan also commented on Jennings’ contract situation, comparing it to fellow feel-good story Colton McKivitz.
“Yeah, I think you anticipate all situations that make sense when a player’s in that situation. I see the same thing with [OL] Colton McKivitz. I mean, those are two guys to me, and it’s very similar situations that I think the way they feel about us is the same way we feel about them. You know, that’s the easy part. The hard part’s the business side,” Shanahan noted.
“You know, when people talk about how to avoid drama and stuff and things like that, and I’m trying not to say anything negative about it, I think that’s just business. I don’t call that drama, I call that business. I mean, if you want to avoid all drama, then just be really extremely bad at business. And just be ridiculous on everything. And I guess there’d be no drama until you tear your team apart doing that. So, like you look into all that stuff, but like we’ve got a great relationship with these guys. Those two guys that does make sense. We can do everything we can to make that work out, but it’s not always easy to make it work out. So, we’ll see how that goes.”
Will the 49ers ultimately pay up for a wide receiver who, admittedly, only really has one year of top-end production? Will they note that Jennings got his numbers on the worst team in the NFC West last season and may not be as productive this fall if the rest of the team is fully healthy around him? Or will the 49ers pay up for a performer who has been an insane value for years now, rewarding him for his hard work? While only time will tell, this story will remain a hot topic until it is resolved one way or another.
