The NFL will not fine San Francisco receiver Jauan Jennings after he was ejected in Sunday’s season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. The ejection occurred in the first half after Jennings was flagged on back-to-back plays while blocking against Starling Thomas and Sean Murphy-Bunting.
The ejection prevented Jennings from reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career, as he ended the year with 975 yards and six touchdowns. Although both of those were career highs, it likely had to sting finishing just short of another major milestone the way he did.
Additionally, both Thomas and Murphy-Bunting were fined for their roles in the scuffle. This seems to indicate that the league admits that it made a mistake and Jennings should not have been ejected.
“I know Jauan blocks through the whistle on every single play,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “I know you usually get ejected for throwing a punch. I didn’t see one, and he didn’t tell me that he threw a punch. So that is something we’re going to have to find out.”
The 49ers ended the regular season with a 6-11 record as they dealt with injuries all year. Jennings, a fourth-year player out of Tennessee, stepped up after Brandon Aiyuk went down to finish second on the team in receiving behind tight end George Kittle.
He is signed with the team through next season and will look to continue to be a weapon once San Francisco gets a fully healthy roster. It’s an unfortunate way to end the year for the receiver, but at least the NFL did the right thing by not fining him to add insult to injury.
Report: San Francisco 49ers fire defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen
San Francisco has reportedly fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen following the 2024 season, according to a report from Matt Maiocco.
It will be the third straight year that the 49ers replace a defensive coordinator, though the hope is to retain Sorensen on staff in some capacity, per Maiocco.
The writing might have been on the wall when the team allowed 47 points to the Arizona Cardinals in the regular-season finale.
Even then, there appeared to be mixed feelings on what San Francisco should do with Nick Sorensen.
“The easy thing right now is everyone is going to put the blame on him for how the defense has played,” star linebacker Fred Warner said. “And when you’re the guy at the helm, that’s what happens — you’re going to take the brunt of that. But it’s everybody.”
Fellow defensive star Nick Bosa, who had one of his least productive seasons in the NFL this year, was a touch more brief when asked his thoughts following the game.
“He’s a good coach,” Bosa said. “But that’s not my decision.”
