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Jauan Jennings makes a reception against the Arizona Cardinals.
Earlier in the offseason, San Francisco 49ers breakout wide receiver Jauan Jennings was looking to either be traded or land a new contract. They haven’t granted either wish, leaving some wondering if they could potentially move on from him.
Training camp is here, so it seems likely that the 49ers won’t be giving him what he wants. As a result, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes they could move on from another player to provide Jennings with the money he’s looking for.
That player was other than Yetur Gross-Matos, the defensive lineman who has shown some decent signs after his Penn State career.
“To be fair, the San Francisco 49ers probably aren’t looking to part with any more veterans this offseason. They’ve already traded Deebo Samuel while moving on from the likes of Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga and Javon Hargrave…
“To help offset the cost of a new Jennings deal, the 49ers should consider moving defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos. He logged a respectable four sacks and 19 tackles last season but could be looking at a reduced role. San Francisco used a first-round pick on Mykel Williams and acquired Bryce Huff in a post-draft trade. While the 49ers might not have a role for Gross-Matos behind Huff, Williams and Nick Bosa, he is productive enough to interest teams in need of pass-rush help. Trading him would save San Francisco $7.8 million in cap space,” he wrote.
Would the 49ers Trade Gross-Matos?
Getting rid of Gross-Matos would be an intriguing decision, considering he’s only 27 years old and has shown the tools that the San Francisco 49ers could be looking for. He only had 19 tackles last season, adding four sacks for good measure.
However, throughout other parts of his career, especially in the 2022 season with the Carolina Panthers, two years before he joined the 49ers in 2024, he posted 54 total tackles and 2.5 sacks.
One could argue that if they move on from him and pay Jennings, it’d be the right decision, but it’s also not the best idea to continue giving up on potential above-average defensive players.
Jennings’ Trade Request and Camp Injury
Regarding Jennings, the wide receiver is currently dealing with a calf injury. Whether it’s due to him wanting a new contract or a trade and trying to hold out until he gets one is possible, but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case. According to General Manager John Lynch, however, the San Francisco 49ers have been happy with how he looks, noting that he has been in the facility getting treatment done.
“Jauan’s working with our health and performance staff, trying to get back out on the field,” Lynch said, per PFT. “Jauan got his calf in the offseason, strained it, and calves can kind of linger, unfortunately. And came out, practiced some, and wasn’t feeling great, and so we’ve kind of put him off to the side.
“But Jauan’s working hard, like he always does. Don’t have any timetable, but we’ll see. Looking forward to getting J.J., as we call him, out there on the field. He’s such a big part of who we are and what we want to be. Eager to get him back, but won’t do it until he’s ready.”
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
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