Vikings Reportedly Sign Former 49ers Wr Jauan Jennings To 1-year, $8 Million Deal

The Minnesota Vikings have signed former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings to a one-year, $8 million deal that could be worth up to $13 million in incentives, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Thursday night.

Jennings will join a Vikings receiving corps that features Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. He’s expected to fill the void left by Jalen Nailor, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this offseason.

Jennings will turn 29 in July. He’s coming off a 55-catch 2025 campaign in which he had a career-high nine scoring grabs while recording 643 receiving yards in 15 starts, the most starts he had logged in a single season.

The Niners reportedly made Jennings a long-term offer ahead of last season, but he decided to bet on himself and test the free agent market. Ultimately, his reported contract with the Vikings is worth less in average annual value than the one NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported the 49ers previously offered.

“From what I understand, the offer was somewhere in the neighborhood of $17 million per season for the 49ers to sign Jauan Jennings to a multiyear extension before last year,” Maiocco told KNBR on Thursday.

“I think Jennings was looking for far north of $20 million [a year]. He figured, 'Well, you know what, I’ll bet on myself, I’ll go out and have a good season, and in free agency I'll get that contract'. The 49ers, I guess in essence, saved $17 million that they then invested into Mike Evans and also Christian Kirk.”

Maiocco added: “I think once Mike Evans was signed, that eliminated the possibility of the 49ers paying anywhere near what Jauan Jennings was looking for.”

In addition to signing Evans, a six-time Pro Bowler with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco also brought aboard a fellow veteran in Kirk, as Maiocco referenced. Plus, last month, the 49ers drafted De'Zhaun Stribling in the second round with the 33rd overall pick.

In 2025, Stribling piled up 811 receiving yards and six touchdowns at Ole Miss. Now he’ll be wearing Jennings’ old jersey number, 15.

Jennings spent the first six seasons of his NFL career in Santa Clara. The 49ers selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. After a stint on the practice squad, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Jennings broke into the receiver rotation in 2021. In the years since, he established himself as an effective target and reliable blocker in San Francisco’s offense, notably reeling in 77 passes in 2024 and just barely missing out on his first 1,000-yard receiving season that time around after getting ejected in Week 18.

Along the way, he pulled off a couple of fun gadget plays, logging a pair of touchdown passes, one in a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2023 season.

While with the 49ers, Jennings played for a reputed offensive genius in Kyle Shanahan. He’s joining a similarly touted head coach in Minnesota, as Kevin O’Connell is known for maximizing his team’s offensive talent. The Vikings could go with either former Arizona Cardinals QB1 Kyler Murray or incumbent starter J.J. McCarthy at quarterback this season.

Whoever wins that position battle will have an impressive crop of receivers to throw to, including Jennings.