Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings is set to be a free agent when the new NFL league year begins in March.

Jennings, who played at Tennessee from 2015 to 2019, has spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers.

It’s possible that Jennings could return to San Francisco on either a new deal or the franchise tag.

The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, however, suggested earlier this month that it’s unlikely the 49ers will seriously consider using the franchise tag on Jennings.

“Jennings is one of only two options the 49ers have for placing the franchise tag on a player before the March 3 deadline, but the $28 million price tag seems too high,” wrote Tafur. “Jennings earned $13.1 million last season when you add in his bonuses and incentives, and likely thinks he is worth $20 million, so the 49ers might let him test the market to see what his price really is.”

ESPN says the Seattle Seahawks would be the best free agent fit for Jauan Jennings

If Jennings reaches free agency — which is the full expectation since it wouldn’t make sense for him to sign an extension with the 49ers without testing the market — ESPN thinks the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champs, would be the best fit for the former Vol.

ESPN’s Aaron Schatz pointed out that Seattle has a connection to Jennings via new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, who spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach with the 49ers.

“This signing would achieve a couple of goals for the Seahawks,” wrote Schatz of Jennings’ potential fit in Seattle. “It would give them a receiver to replace Rashid Shaheed if he leaves in free agency. Furthermore, Jennings is a strong run blocker and the Seahawks still want to be a run-first offense.

“New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is familiar with Jennings from his time in San Francisco, and adding Jennings would bring the benefit of taking away from an important division rival. Jennings had nine touchdowns last season but was even better in 2024, when he ranked 12th in ESPN’s receiver scores.”

Jennings badly wants to win a Super Bowl, so while I’m sure he wants to get paid, I doubt he’ll be landing with a team like the New York Jets or the Cleveland Browns, who are nowhere close to competing for a championship.

The Seahawks, on other hand, should be right back in the Super Bowl mix in 2026.

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