Jauan Jennings has every reason to turn down an extension offer from the 49ers and hit the open market when he becomes a free agent in 2026.
There's an excellent chance wide receiver Jauan Jennings is playing his final season with the San Francisco 49ers.
A free agent to be in 2026, "Third and Jauan" has now cemented himself as a legitimate receiving weapon after reaching a career-high 975 yards a year ago amid what was otherwise a frustrating 2024 campaign for an injury-plagued Niners team.
Considering San Francisco paid him just over $2.8 million a season ago and will pay him up to $4.26 million in 2025, it's safe to say the feisty and physical receiver has been an absolute bargain in recent years.
Expect that to change.
Jauan Jennings should rebuff any attempt 49ers make to extend him
After shedding plenty of payroll earlier this offseason, the 49ers grew extension-happy by offering up new deals to quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner.
Jennings, in theory, should be next, even if he's penciled in as a would-be No. 3 option on the depth chart behind Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall in a fully healthy wide receiver room. However, Jennings likely won't be willing to accept yet another team-friendly deal and should be inclined to explore what his full value would be on the open market.
According to Over the Cap, his 2024 career-best efforts were valued at $11.8 million, while Spotrac's market-value tool suggests he'd be worth a two-year contract with an annual average of $10 million.
That's notably more expensive than the near-$6 million yearly average he's receiving, currently.
But the open-market bidding for Jennings' services might increase that projection, and the 6-foot-3 receiver would understandably hold off on any extension talks with the sole purpose of seeing what his full value could be as a free agent, especially if he's poised to take full advantage of a likely Aiyuk absence to start 2025 with the latter still recovering from last year's ACL and MCL tears.
Should Jennings get off to yet another red-hot start, not unlike what he enjoyed a year ago, the chances of him accepting any extension offer from San Francisco would be slim unless the franchise offered up notably more than what his expected value would be. In that sense, Jennings might have already priced himself out of the 49ers' comfort range.
It's unfortunate, given how vital Jennings has been to the Niners offense in so many ways in recent years.
But, it's the hard reality of roster turnover.
