Jauan Jennings and the 49ers Find a Resolution
At least, for now..
The San Francisco 49ers can’t seem to keep drama out of the workplace, but at very least they get to a resolution before the beginning of the season. With the season set to kick-off this Sunday, receiver Jauan Jennings and the 49ers ended their stand off by agreeing to a raise via incentives.
Adam Schefter would further report that Jennings turned a multi-year deal in order to bet on himself in hopes of raising his value. Coming off a career year, he instead opted for the raise with a chance to cash in again next off-season.
The holdout started prior to the beginning of training camp when Jennings demanded an extension. He had originally signed a new extension last off-season for $15.4 million over two years, but was in the final year of that deal. A trade request was also issues, but 49ers General Manager John Lynch never budged on dealing the receiver.
That appeared to be the right call as a rash of injuries at the position would overcome the team throughout camp, prompting them to sign several free agents. At one point, receiver Equanimeous St. Brown was brought in for a try out, signed, then promptly placed on season-ending Injury Reserve.
However, Jennings was also apart of that misfortune. First reported just four days into training camp on July 27th, Jennings suffered a calf injury that would hold him out for the remainder of camp. At the time, most were skeptical that this was just a “hold out injury” to avoid practice while negotiated for a new deal.
The injury would be a very real one, even holding up contract talks while he recovered. As Schefter also reported, talks between the two sides were mostly quiet until Jennings returned to practice last week.
It appears that Jennings and his agent didn’t find much solid ground in negotiations, as the final deal was not substantial. That would also mean the 49ers multi-year deal wasn’t close to the number that Jennings camp was looking for. He was instead left with a band-aid deal and chance to cash in next year.
An off-season filled with drama, it wouldn’t be until the night before kick-off that a resolution would be found. San Francisco is getting healthy at the right time and for now have no distractions. How smoothly will contract talks go after the year? That’s yet to be seen.
Let’s just hope for the best.