San Francisco 49ers fans were looking forward to training camp as the franchise attempts to rebound following a disappointing and injury-riddled 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, the team is already dealing with injury woes before training camp even begins, as both Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall were placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list ahead of training camp. These injuries might give Jauan Jennings the kind of leverage he was looking for.
Aiyuk missing the beginning of training camp was expected after he sat out most of the 2024 campaign due to a season-ending knee injury, but Pearsall was supposed to be healthy for training camp. The Niners missing both of their wideouts would normally shine a light on Jennings, but with him looking for a contract extension, San Francisco might be in trouble.
Well, they might be in trouble if they don't give in to Jennings by handing him the extension he seeks.
49ers might have no choice but to give Jauan Jennings desired extension
When Aiyuk will be able to go is a mystery. The Niners hope he'll be clear by the time the regular season begins, but his injury is a serious one to come back from. It'll take him time to get back to full strength. As for Pearsall, well, he was supposed to be back from his hamstring injury by now. The fact that he isn't raises the question of how long he'll be out. The unknown puts the Niners in quite a predicament.
Clearly, the Niners aren't crazy about the idea of giving Jennings his desired extension, but do they really have the leverage to negotiate right now? They traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason. If Jennings holds out, which is entirely possible, the team would be impossibly short at the wide receiver position, considering the injuries to Aiyuk and Pearsall.
The Niners are paying Brock Purdy to be elite, and he does have Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, but if Jennings holds out and both Pearsall and Aiyuk are injured, their best wide receiver would be Demarcus Robinson. No disrespect to Robinson, but it'd be tough for any quarterback to thrive under those circumstances.
Paying Jennings would, at the very least, give Purdy a trustworthy wideout to throw to with the status of Pearsall and Aiyuk unknown. It might not be what they want, but again, they might not have a choice at this point.