6 NFL teams who should trade for Jauan Jennings, from the Patriots to the Raiders

USA Today

14-07-2025

The consequences of paying Brock Purdy more than the NFL equivalent of spare change has already rippled through the San Francisco 49ers roster. Former All-Pros Deebo Samuel, Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward all departed this offseason via trade or in free agency. Useful starters like Leonard Floyd, Dre Greenlaw and Aaron Banks followed as general manager John Lynch maneuvered to keep the Niners under the salary cap.
Another ripple emerged Monday, Wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a favorite of Purdy's on third down coming off a breakthrough in 2024, wants a contract extension or a trade as he heads toward free agency in 2026. While San Francisco has more than an estimated $45 million in 2025 salary cap space, that number shrinks to under $9 million for 2026, per Over the Cap's calculations.
The 49ers are already on the hook for the four-year, $120 million contract extension they gave Brandon Aiyuk last offseason -- a deal they can't easily unlatch from until the 2027 season. They drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft to bolster their wideout depth and have Demarcus Robinson and recent fourth round picks Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins waiting behind him. This could spell the end of the Jennings era in the Bay Area.
Every team in the NFL could use a savvy, rising wideout like Jennings. He's entering his age 28 season, turned 53 of his 77 catches last fall into either touchdowns or first downs and has a 3.4 percent drop rate the last two years after struggling with misfires his first two seasons as a pro. At 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, he's a solid possession receiver who can thrive in the intermediate range but whose run-after-catch abilities don't entirely fit head coach Kyle Shanahan's philosophy -- the Niners have led the league in yards after catch (YAC) four of the five seasons between 2019 and 2023 before falling off last year. Jennings' 3.1 YAC per reception ranked 135th among all qualified targets last fall.
Who could use a sure-handed route runner who creates separation when it matters most? Let's look at some of the most obvious candidates.
New England Patriots
It's tough to make any list of wideout needy teams and not include the Patriots. While New England is dense with depth at the position, there's a lack of surefire targets in Drake Maye's lineup. His WR1 is a 31-year-old Stefon Diggs, who's coming off a torn ACL. Demario Douglas, Mack Hollins and Kendrick Bourne are all nice options to have, but none are surefire WR2 types. There's an opportunity here for Jennings to continue his ascent with another young quarterback.
The fit here goes beyond just a general need for talent. Jennings had 16 more first downs than any wideout on the team and at 6-foot-3 he'd be at least two inches taller than any other wide receiver likely to make the 53-man roster aside from Hollins. His six receiving touchdowns in 2024 were as many as New England's top two wideouts (Douglas and Kayshon Boutte) had combined.
New York Giants
Getting Jennings would provide a foundation to help Malik Nabers soar and Darius Slayton get back to the deep routes where he thrived early in his career. It would also be a boon to Jaxson Dart, the 26th overall pick who'll eventually step into the role Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston leave behind atop the QB depth chart. In a season where New York's offense is likely to lag significantly behind its defense, having a drive-extending presence could turn seven wins into nine.
But New York is even more cash strapped than the 49ers, with minimal spending room for 2025 and 2026. Dealing for Jennings would mean pushing his cap hits into the future -- a reasonable decision if Dart exceeds expectations and outplays the value of his rookie contract but one that could leave the Giants committed to an underperforming 30-year-old wideout and his big contract down the line. A move like this may come down to how the franchise weighs helping Brian Daboll in what could be his final season on the sideline vs. its future financial flexibility.
Las Vegas Raiders
Geno Smith's high efficiency passing game will be put to the test in Las Vegas. While Brock Bowers has emerged as arguably the best pass-catching tight end in the NFL, there's minimal receiving depth around Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker. The Raiders worked to address that by drafting Jack Bech, Dont'e Thornton and converted QB Tommy Mellott this spring, it's clear there's room for a high value veteran atop this depth chart.
Head coach Pete Carroll is familiar with Jennings, having played against him twice annually over the final three seasons of his Seattle Seahawks career. While Meyers and Jennings share some similarities, both could thrive with the quarterback whose 4.7 completion percentage over expected (CPOE) is best in the NFL over the last three seasons. There would be a little bit of redundancy with Bech in the mix -- another big bodied wideout who can play inside or out and create space -- it would also provide a lush intermediate range for Smith to surgically pick apart defenses. It could also set up some massive gains for Tucker and Thornton over the top.
Tennessee Titans
Jennings helped fuel Purdy's rise to franchise quarterback, albeit in a reserve role before 2024. Now he could do the same for Cam Ward and take an immediate spot near the top of a depth chart that features Calvin Ridley (good!), Treylon Burks, Van Jefferson, Tyler Lockett, Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor (less good!). Jennings is already one of the better case scenarios for the NFL player Ayomanor could become, so it's clear the Titans front office sees a fit for a big bodied complimentary wideout.
Having a stable teammate who can play along the sideline (221 routes in 2024) or from the slot (160) would keep offensive coordinator Nick Holz's playbook open and allow Ridley to continue to do his best work split wide. More importantly, it would let Ridley be a big play threat with Jennings as a safety valve on clutch downs. With a young quarterback behind center, Tennessee has money to spend -- an estimated $85 million next offseason.
Los Angeles Chargers
Ladd McConkey has already established himself as a problem for AFC defenses. Quinten Johnston put a tough rookie season behind him to seize some of the potential that made him a 2023 first round pick, boosting his yards per route run (YPRR) from 0.97 in 2023 (136th among qualified wide receivers) to 2.04 last fall (42nd). Adding a veteran like Jennings would be an expensive luxury for the Chargers.
Los Angeles, however, has $17 million more to spend in 2026 than anyone else in the NFL, per Over the Cap. It also has a rocket-armed quarterback whose impressive play on the field has yet to manifest into playoff success. While Jennings isn't the deep threat the Chargers may prefer -- his intermediate targets overlap with McConkey and Johnston's success came in a season where his target distance dropped from 12.9 yards downfield to 10.8 -- he'd be a reliable veteran with more to bring to the table than the recently re-signed Mike Williams. The fit isn't ideal, especially with 6-foot-2, 205 pound second round rookie Tre Harris waiting in the wings, but a productive veteran target could be the booster rocket that gets the LA offense out of the stratosphere.
New York Jets
Garrett Wilson wants to be a "Jet for life" but hasn't yet come to terms on an extension to the rookie contract that ties him to the team through 2026. That's going to be a significant outlay and New York may fall into the same space San Francisco is right now. Paying Jennings AND another wideout who's likely to sign an Aiyuk-ian deal at the top of the market could be a tough sell for a team with a good, not great, projected salary cap situation in 2026 and 2027.
In theory, pairing Wilson's 4.3-second 40 speed with a steady, sure-handed WR2 could help the former first round pick flourish. In reality, 11 games with Davante Adams as his teammate -- after two seasons where his fellow starters had been guys like a fading Corey Davis, Elijah Moore and Allen Lazard -- didn't change his production all that much (an 1,100-receiving yard pace, which is pretty much where he's been throughout his three-year NFL career). Still, a Wilson-Jennings pairing would give Justin Fields a better opportunity to thrive and make New York a more appealing landing spot for any quarterback who may follow Fields.