Kyle Shanahan Calls Back FaceTiming Jauan Jennings About Trade – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

The 49ers almost took home another player.

In a season where the 49ers brought back several familiar faces such as Dre Greenlaw, Deebo Samuel and DeForest Buckner, San Francisco almost added another player to that list in wide receiver Jauan Jennings. The 49ers and Minnesota Vikings had frameworks in place for a trade that would have sent Jennings back to San Francisco, FOX Sports reporter Jay Glazer said on Sunday’s pregame show, but Jennings rejected it.

“Here’s a little scoop that no one knew about,” Glazer said. “The 49ers, who already traded for DeForest Buckner, had also worked out trade terms for Jauan Jennings, their former wide receiver, with the Vikings. But that depended on him getting on FaceTime with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch and saying, ‘OK, yeah, I want to come back.’ But he didn’t do it. He said, “Actually, no, I want to stay here in Minnesota. » “

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters Wednesday, detailing discussions with Jennings. He confirmed that he had a good conversation with Jennings over FaceTime, but after speaking out about his current situation, no deal came to fruition.

“The report was accurate, but not exactly detailed,” Shanahan said. “You can’t talk to other players from other teams, you’re not allowed to do that. We love Jauan. We have a very good relationship with Jauan. I know him very well and we didn’t want to do it without talking to him first. So we had to agree on some things to at least make him close enough to be able to talk to him.

“And then when we FaceTimed with JJ, it went well. It was great. We talked about a lot of things, and he ended up saying he was happy with where he was. It wasn’t just a straight no at first, but he said, ‘Man, Kyle, I’m pretty happy here and I like the stuff.’ When I heard the way he was talking and where we were, I agreed with him. It was so a good conversation and something that was possible, but that’s why it didn’t come to fruition.

When reports first emerged that Jennings had rejected the idea of ​​a trade, speculation arose about whether there were bad blood between him and the 49ers, especially after a contract saga ahead of the 2025 NFL season. Shanahan disputed that notion, saying Jennings and the team still have a good relationship.

“It wasn’t like that at all,” Shanahan said. “JJ was the one who FaceTimed me, he just got back to Tennessee and was with his family and his kids, and it was a good conversation. But he’s with good people, he likes where he is, and I thought he had meaning in what he said and I agree with him.”

The 49ers are shorthanded at wide receiver and dealing with injuries to players such as Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson. San Francisco can focus on another trade before the Nov. 10 deadline or hope to receive reinforcements as early as this week when the Las Vegas Raiders come to town.

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