The NFL has made a big mistake with former Tennessee Vols WR Jauan Jennings and there’s going to be a lot of regret
Former Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings is a free agent for the first time in his NFL career after spending the last six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
The NFL has screwed up this offseason with former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
And there’s going to be some major regret.
Former Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings is somehow still a free agent
Despite free agency starting a month ago, Jennings is somehow still a free agent.
The former Vol spent the first six years of his pro career with the San Francisco 49ers. Jennings became a free agent this offseason after he was unable to come to a long-term agreement with the 49ers.
The expectation was that Jennings would be a hot commodity on the open market, which is why it’s shocking that he’s still available.
League officials told The Athletic earlier this month that Jennings is still a free agent because he’s asking for too much money.
“Why does Jauan Jennings, the 49ers’ top wide receiver the past two seasons, remain a free agent? League officials in Phoenix all had the same answer: He’s asking for too much money,” noted The Athletic’s Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur.
Jennings isn’t a player who puts up huge numbers, so it’s no surprise that he’s not receiving top of the market offers. But he’s a winning player that has a strong reputation around the league for his competitiveness and the effort that he displays on every rep. He may not light up the box score, but Jennings is absolutely the type of player that helps win games. Whether it’s his elite blocking or a big third down catch (he’s known as third-and-Jauan for a reason), you can always count on Jennings to show up in a big moment.
That’s why Jennings earned the respect of former 49ers teammate and superstar tight end George Kittle.
“Anyone that watches tape, they look at Jauan’s tape and go ‘holy cow, this guy is one of one,’” said Kittle in 2024. “His mindset and his attitude when he’s on a football field is completely different. He goes to that dark place that Coach (Kyle) Shanahan talks about…he is just very violent in the way that he plays the game — which you don’t see in all receivers.
“He will hit defensive ends as hard as he can. He will hit linebackers as hard as he can — he’s not scared of anything. And if you need him to win a one-on-one rep, he’s going to win that one-on-one rep. Incredibly strong hands. For a guy that does it all, he runs the routes, he does the run game, he shows up every day loving the game with a great attitude. And then you get to game day and he makes all those plays. That’s someone that you want to be in your building. That’s someone that you want to pay. That’s someone that you want to reward because he’s just going to keep bringing it every day and it’s just going to raise the standard around him. When you have a guy like that that does everything, it’s great for us.”
49ers linebacker Fred Warner, who played with Jennings for six seasons in San Francisco, has called the former Vol one of the best football players he’s ever played with.
Someone is eventually going to sign Jennings — hopefully it’s a team that’s competitive and has a chance to make a postseason run — and every other team is going to see him perform at a high level and regret not signing him.
NFL front offices are made up of smart people who understand the sport inside and out. But those people aren’t infallible. They make mistakes. And they’re all making a massive mistake by severely undervaluing Jauan Jennings.