Over the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings signed Jauan Jennings to a one-year, $8 million contract. Initially, it appeared as though the Vikings had their WR3 with the departure of Jalen Nailor. However, this signing isn’t going the way Minnesota might have wanted.
Jennings has had two catches for nine yards in three games for the Vikings, per StatMuse. As a result, if the veteran wideout doesn’t start producing, could Minnesota be open to trading him with the trade deadline nearing on Nov. 10?
On the Oct. 9 edition of “Purple Daily,” Phil Mackey noted that he would be okay with the Vikings exploring potential trade offers for Jennings.
“There’s no way anyone involved figured that it would look like this,” Mackey said. “There’s no way… If Odell Beckham Jr. is playable and Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are healthy, and you’ve had Tai Felton out there and Myles Price, if OBJ is playable as just a fifth receiver on your active roster and you can get a draft pick for Jauan Jennings, don’t you think they might explore that in the next few weeks?”
Jauan Jennings Might Not Be a Fit in Vikings Offense
Meanwhile, Judd Zulgad also notes that he doesn’t see the fit, at least not right now, between the Vikings offense and Jennings.
“It feels like he’s not a fit,” Zulgad added. “It’s also a situation where, because Kyler doesn’t throw to his receivers a lot, Jauan Jennings, when Justin Jefferson is healthy, Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jennings, but it also doesn’t feel, just from the eye test of watching it, like he’s a great fit.
“He definitely is blocking, which is fine, but it’s funny that in the game where T.J. Hockenson breaks out, Jennings, who is as close to a tight end as a wide receiver can get, still doesn’t get the ball.
“I know the blocking was a selling point, but when Jauan Jennings signed here, this couldn’t have been the goal of the Jauan Jennings camp. ‘Hey, we’re just going to go block. We’re not going to catch any passes.’ No way.”
49ers Urged to Call Minnesota for Jauan Jennings
Meanwhile, San Francisco 49ers on SI’s Grant Cohn believes the Niners need to be calling Minnesota to reunite with the veteran wideout. A potential move for Jennings would see the 49ers continue this trend of reuniting with past players like Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel Sr.
“Jauan Jennings is available for the right price if the 49ers are interested in trading for him, according to a source,” Cohn said in an Oct. 7 video on his YouTube channel. “The Vikings gave him a signing bonus worth $4.5 million. But so far this season, he has two catches for nine yards and apparently there are some personality issues that have gotten old fast.
“If that’s truly the case, I’m not surprised because I think that’s what happened with Jauan Jennings last season… I think he rubbed a lot of people on the Niners the wrong way, and they didn’t seem to make much of an effort to bring him back. So, he’s been humbled. He’s doing nothing. The Vikings don’t want him. The Niners should call the Vikings.”
Vikings Get Intriguing Jauan Jennings Take Amid 49ers Speculation