Time Is Running Out for Kyle Shanahan’s WR After Brock Purdy Gets Veteran Weapon

The Jauan Jennings contract saga was supposed to reach a conclusion within the last week of August, but we were sold empty dreams. It’s September, less than a week away from game one. It’s all still up in the air. But something’s changed. Amid the injury pileup at WR and the 49ers’ pretty well-known cap space situation, Jennings has all the leverage in the world. And Mike Silver thinks that there’s only one solution to this saga.

Silver laid it out like a coach in the owner’s box: this is a band-aid moment for the 49ers and Jauan Jennings. “His leverage will go down when Aiyuk comes back. I always think of these situations as a band-aid. They won’t be able to do a long-term deal. They’ll be like ‘okay, fine, we’ll give you an extra 4m in incentives’, or something that would make him feel good. Like, Trey Hendrickson did a band-aid.” Translation? Give Jennings one-year money now (get him on the field), then make him a free agent.

And it makes perfect sense. Right now, the Niners’ receiver cupboard is bare: Aiyuk rehabbing a blown-out knee and Robinson shelved on suspension. That logjam of absences gives Jennings rare leverage, but it’s a ticking clock. Once Aiyuk is back around midseason, as Shanahan himself hinted, the negotiating table tilts fast in the team’s favor.

Cap-wise, the Niners can stomach it. They’re pegged to have north of $42 million in space after the spring shuffle, which means there’s room to throw Jennings a one-year sweetener without wrecking the books. That’s the band-aid. Pay a premium now to avoid missing games, then reassess in free agency. Buy time.

Because they do need him, for this season at least. He went off last season. 77 catches for 975 yards and six touchdowns after Aiyuk went down. That stretch proved he can carry real volume in Kyle Shanahan’s system, which is why his camp is now pushing for money that reflects starter-level production. But the 49ers aren’t thinking of a long-term commitment.

And we all know that the Bengals came out as the winner in the Trey Hendrickson standoff. He got really good money, but it’s still a year-long contract. All that drama for one year? The Bengals got themselves a top 5 DE in the league and long-term flexibility. And the 49ers were probably watching. And with Jennings himself dealing with a calf injury, he’s not really helping his case. Add in the new 49ers WR to the mix.

Brock Purdy’s new weapon at WR

Yes, the 49ers signed WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling after he was released earlier by the Seahawks. “It was between here and Pittsburgh. Obviously, I have a good relationship with Aaron Rodgers over there, and he wanted me back over there. So, it was a toss-up, 50/50. I had to weigh my options and see which one I wanted to do, which was going to be better for my career at this point, and I was excited about it,” he said.

And he made the right choice. With Brandon Aiyuk rehabbing his knee until at least Week 6 and Jauan Jennings both nursing a calf and haggling over his contract, the door cracks open for a journeyman wideout to steal early snaps in Week 1. Not because the 49ers planned it, but because their top two options are stuck in limbo. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Oh, and the 49ers have tried to snatch him before. He admitted San Francisco’s interest wasn’t new. John Lynch had already tried multiple times to pry him loose after his rookie deal in Green Bay. Those earlier swings came up empty, but eight years into his career, the 49ers finally landed their guy. And Jauan Jennings probably isn’t too big a fan, for obvious reasons.

And he can fit right in. Valdes-Scantling said the real selling point was scheme carryover. With 49ers OC Klay Kubiak running a system almost identical to his brother Klint’s in Seattle, he saw a shortcut. No learning a brand-new playbook. “Not having to learn a new system. Being able to get onto the field right away, obviously, that’s the goal. And so, being able to jump-start that process of learning the system, it betters the chances of you being on the field,” he said.