Sep 22, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) celebrates after a touchdown in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Riddle me this, NFL Batman —When is a 53-man roster not a 53-man roster?
Answer — when the 2025 49ers turn it into one giant, ever-changing Rubik’s Cube.
I’d be all ready to Jock Blog about the ’25 Niners and their readiness for Week 1 at Seattle on Sept. 7 . . . except I’m still not sure who the ’25 Niners are. Still working on that Cube.
(For the record, when Rubik’s Cube swept the nation in the 1980s, no one from the engineering or logic department at school sought me as a guest speaker. When I solve the Cube, I’ll let you know.)
Primary example of this ever-changing Cube: Jauan Jennings.
Will Jennings be in uniform in Seattle? Or will he not?
As of this JB — Thursday, 8/28, around 1 pm-ish — we don’t know.
Does Jennings have a legitimate calf injury that has prevented him from practicing since July 27, or is it his desire for a new 2025 W-2 that is preventing him from practicing since July 27?
As of this JB — Thursday, 8/28, around 1 pm-ish — we don’t know.
When the 49ers break the huddle on offense in Seattle on Sept. 7, will Ricky Pearsall’s fellow wideout be named Skyy, Marquez, Russell … or Jauan?
As of this JB — Thursday, 8/28, around 1 pm-ish — we don’t know.
And maybe the most important question: If the 49ers and Jauan Jennings continue this standoff, can the 49ers beat the Seahawks with a wide receiver corps thinner than Olive Oyl? (Hey, if you’re going to make your living on 20th-century pop culture, you may as well go deep.)
That’s really the only question that matters. Because if the 49ers can operate and win without Jennings while they wait for Demarcus Robinson to return after Week 3, the leverage she goes to management. And that’s even factoring in the notion that Olive Oyl is also unavailable for Week 1.
Talking to 49ers president of football operations John Lynch on our show Thursday, I got the sense that the 49ers are not looking to budge on the Jennings contract anytime soon. The Niners have gone this far without paying extra, and 10 days before the season opener is pretty far. Instead, they have traded for Skyy Moore and picked up Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the meantime. There’s even a report they are interested in picking up Kendrick Bourne. And perhaps elevating Russell Gage from the practice squad.
More twists of the Rubik’s Cube.
This is not even to talk about the trade for running back Brian Robinson last week or the pickup of defensive linemen Jordan Jefferson off waivers on Wednesday. We all know that rosters are living, breathing things and are like sharks — if you’re not constantly moving forward, you die. But the sense that the 49ers roster is still very much unfinished this close to the season opener is a tad unsettling.
Particularly in the case of Jennings.
If you spend your entire mornings talking about Jennings — like we do — you can fall into the trap of turning the guy into a laboratory hybrid of Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice. He is, after all, “WR3” on a depth chart; a player listed behind Brandon Aiyuk and Pearsall when healthy. So perhaps the 49ers are justified in not caving, given business practices and Jennings’ overall status on the team.
Then again, anyone who watches 49er football on any given run play or third down knows Jennings is more than a WR3.
And given the lack of recognizable names to replace Jennings on the depth chart, the easy answer is to pay him.
It’s a game of chicken. Who will blink first?
Still working on that Cube, sports fans.
