SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After returning to the practice field Monday and participating in Wednesday and Thursday sessions, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings spoke publicly for the first time about an eventful summer that included a calf injury and a contract impasse.
The 49ers and Jennings reached agreement Wednesday night on a slight modification to his contract that includes the opportunity to earn $3 million in additional play-time incentives in 2025.
Asked Thursday whether he was happy with that outcome despite not getting the lucrative, long-term deal he sought, Jennings seemed content.
"Oh yeah, I love money," Jennings said. "You love money? I love money."
Of course, Jennings will have to reach certain benchmarks in order to receive that money with the possibility of raising his take-home pay for 2025 from $7.5 million to $10.5 million. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday night that Jennings did turn down a long-term extension with the Niners in order to play out his deal.
On Thursday, 49ers general manager John Lynch told KNBR radio in San Francisco that while the team and Jennings couldn't find common ground on a deal to keep him beyond this season, he wasn't ready to close the door on that entirely even as Jennings heads toward unrestricted free agency in the offseason.
"We couldn't come to an agreement on that right now but that's not to say that's gone," Lynch said. "Some teams do have the policy [of] once you hit the season, they put all contracts away. That's not something we've done. We are going to kind of focus on going and beating Seattle right now but we'll continue to try to work towards that. We've said it many times, we love J.J., we love his presence on this team and we want to keep him around here for a while."
During his roughly five-minute media session Thursday, Jennings didn't much want to discuss his contract status, noting that his focus is on Sunday's opener against the Seattle Seahawks. When he was asked whether an extension was what he hoped to accomplish during the offseason, Jennings again noted he was OK with the outcome.
"We got accomplished what we did and I'm extremely grateful," Jennings said. "Just the opportunity itself, extremely grateful. Just to be back with the team like Fred Warner and George Kittle, it means a lot."
Jennings' return has been a welcome sight for his teammates and coaches. While much of the focus during Jennings' absence was on his contract status, he also was dealing with a calf injury he suffered in the team's fourth practice of training camp.
Lynch reiterated to KNBR on Thursday that Jennings' situation was a case of "both things are true" in reference to the calf injury and the desire for a contract extension. Jennings said Thursday that the calf is "feeling a lot better" and that he's "ready to go," with all parties expecting him to play Sunday in Seattle. He was listed as a limited participant in practice Thursday for the second consecutive day.
Multiple Niners, including Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy, pointed out Thursday that Jennings' energy has been immediately felt on the practice field.
"Picking up where we left off, it's been great," Purdy said. "[I'm] really excited that he's back for our team and obviously as the quarterback having one of my starting receivers out there."
With Brandon Aiyuk still recovering from a knee injury, Jennings is expected to step back into his role as the team's top wideout with Ricky Pearsall also poised for a step forward. Jennings is coming off his best NFL season, in which he had 77 receptions for 975 yards and six touchdowns, all career highs and all the most among the team's receivers.
Kittle expects Jennings to be the same hard-nosed player he has been since he arrived as a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
"I know how Jauan responds to everything and he's someone I can always lean on, someone I can count on for an energy boost in the middle of a game," Kittle said. "Someone who will hit somebody with me, talk crap with me, he's that guy. To have him in our huddle again and then to show the other guys and new guys that we have around us how we play Niners football, that's really beneficial."