SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers continue to work on trying to sign wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a long-term contract extension, they handled another important piece of wide receiver business on Wednesday.
Restricted free agent Jauan Jennings, who has emerged as the team’s reliable third option over the past three seasons, agreed to a two-year deal with the Niners that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2025 season.
Jennings did not sign his restricted free agent tender and instead made this deal, which is similar to a one-year extension.
The contract is worth up to $15.4 million, including $10.5 million guaranteed, agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus told KeynoteUSA’s Adam Schefter.
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Jennings had not been participating in organized team activities because he was technically not under contract as he and the Niners worked to reach an agreement. San Francisco presented the second-round offer to Jennings in March, which meant Jennings could look elsewhere for a new deal, but the Niners would have the right to match any outside offer or receive a second-round pick if they didn’t match.
While Jennings did not receive any outside offers, he also did not sign his offer, which is why he had not been in Santa Clara for the OTAs. But Jennings was on the field Wednesday as the Niners held their second OTA open to the media.
At the NFL combine in February, Niners general manager John Lynch said the team was interested in reaching an extension with Jennings. The 49ers have made similar short-term deals with key players such as linebacker Dre Greenlaw and right tackle Colton McKivitz in recent seasons.
A former seventh-round pick out of Tennessee, Jennings has played in 45 regular-season games with 78 receptions for 963 yards and seven touchdowns while serving as one of the team’s best outside run blockers.
If the 49ers had won Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jennings could have been the MVP of that game. He had four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey before the Niners fell 25-22 in overtime.
Meanwhile, Aiyuk is still in the midst of negotiations over what will presumably be a much larger and longer deal. He has not been participating in the voluntary portion of the offseason program.
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