The possibility of the Pittsburgh Steelers acquiring wide receiver Jauan Jennings could be very short lived.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on NFL Live on Wednesday that teams have called the San Francisco 49ers in the hopes of engaging in trade talks for Jennings. However, the 49ers have told those teams the receiver is not available.
“Several teams have already inquired about Jauan Jennings availability, but the 49ers said they have no desire in trading the wide receiver,” said Schefter, via SI on Steelers’ Jack Markowski.
There are rumors on social media that the Steelers were one of those several teams to inquire about Jennings, but an official report has yet to confirm. NFL pundits have linked the Steelers to the veteran wideout since Monday when Schefter reported Jennings could request a trade.
Jennings is seeking a new contract. Schefter wrote the receiver either wants a new deal or a trade this summer.
The wideout is entering the final year of the two-year extension he signed last offseason. Spotrac projected the 49ers wideout to be worth $38.1 million on a new two-year contract.
49ers Not Moving on From WR Jauan Jennings: Report
It’s not super surprising that San Francisco has already rebuffed the idea of trading Jennings.
The 49ers won’t have top wideout Brandon Aiyuk to begin this season. Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL and MCL in the middle of the 2024 campaign.
Jennings is coming off a career year in which Aiyuk missed the second half. It makes sense San Francisco would want to keep Jennings to help replace Aiyuk to begin 2025.
Jennings has averaged 485 receiving yards per season during his four-year career. But last season, he had a career-high 77 catches, 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Only tight end George Kittle had more production in each category than Jennings for the 49ers in 2024.
Still, Jennings is a situation pundits will continue to monitor because this is the second offseason in a row that the 49ers are dealing with a disgruntled receiver. San Francisco nearly traded Aiyuk last offseason, ironically, to the Steelers, before signing him to a four-year, $120 million extension.
Jennings is set to have a $1.17 million base salary and a $4.26 million cap hit in 2025. According to Spotrac, San Francisco has the third-most cap space in the league.
The 49ers have the cap room to sign Jennings to a new deal if they desire to.
How Jennings Could Fit With Steelers
After Schefter’s report Monday, pundits began speculating the Steelers as a potential destination for Jennings. Both Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay and Matt Holder proposed the idea of Jennings landing in Pittsburgh.
“Robert Woods is projected to be their No. 2 out wide, and Jennings is basically a younger and (at this stage in their careers) better version of Woods,” wrote Holder.
The Steelers could add Jennings to start opposite DK Metcalf in 2025. That would push Robert Woods, who turned 33 in April, into a depth role.
With Jennings in the fold, Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson could also focus on primarily playing in the slot.
However, it’s worth noting that in Kay’s Jennings-Steelers trade proposal, Pittsburgh sent Austin to the 49ers as part of the trade.
With Metcalf and Jennings, the Steelers would have two new receivers who each had at least 975 receiving yards last season. But Pittsburgh signed Metcalf to a new contract after trading for him this offseason.
It’s worth wondering if the Steelers would acquire another receiver at least 27 years old and sign him to an extension.
Right now, though, it’s a moot point. According to Schefter, Jennings won’t be traded.
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