The Minnesota Vikings recently almost ended their relationship with wide receiver Jauan Jennings, trading him away to the San Francisco 49ers. But the deal didn’t happen.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared why with reporters Wednesday while confirming the report from NFL insider Jay Glazer that San Francisco nearly acquired Jennings.
“The report was accurate, just not totally exactly detailed up,” Shanahan told reporters, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “I mean, you can’t talk to other players on other teams. You’re not allowed to. We love Jauan. We have such a good relationship with Jauan and know him really 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 it close enough to be able to talk to him.
As Shanahan continued, he explained that Jennings told him he was happy with the Vikings. That ended San Francisco’s pursuit to bring back the receiver.
Jennings played five years for the 49ers from 2021-25. Last season, the wideout had 55 catches, 643 receiving yards and a career-best nine touchdowns for San Francisco.
In Minnesota, Jennings hasn’t fit into Kevin O’Connell’s offense particularly well. This season, he has six catches for 54 yards on only 10 targets in six games.
Vikings’ Jauan Jennings Declines Trade to Return to 49ers
Shanahan detailed that his conversation with Jennings over FaceTime went very well. But it didn’t end with both sides wanting to reunite.
The veteran wideout expressed wanting to stay with the Vikings.
“Then when we got on a FaceTime with J.J., it went well. It was awesome. We talked about a lot of stuff, and he ended up saying that he was happy with where he was,” Shanahan also said, via Florio. “It wasn’t just like a definite ‘no’ first, but he was like, ‘Man, Kyle, I’m pretty happy here and liking stuff.’
“When I heard the way he talked and where we’re at, I agreed with him. So, it was a good conversation and something that was possible, but that’s why it didn’t go down.”
New Details Emerge on Declined Jauan Jennings Vikings-49ers Trade