This season could be the worst of Jauan Jennings' career if the wide receiver spends the rest of the year with the Minnesota Vikings. He has not clicked with his new team after he signed with them on a one-year, $8 million contract in free agency and is suddenly a trade candidate as the Vikings potentially seek to get anything they can in return for him before he departs at the end of the year. According to NFL Media/ESPN, Jennings' trade market is expected to heat up before the Nov. 10 deadline.
Despite joining the Vikings on the heels of consecutive highly productive seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Jennings started only two of the first five games of 2026 and missed another for personal reasons. He has a mere two catches for 9 yards on five targets as an afterthought in the passing scheme. The hope when Jennings signed with Minnesota was that he could thrive as the second weapon behind Justin Jefferson or the third option behind him and Jordan Addison.
Instead, the six-year veteran has been invisible. He struggled to get open in Weeks 1-5, and when he did, quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz mostly either missed him or did not throw his way in the first place. Jauan Jennings was pissed off he didn’t get the ball when he was wide open in the end zone on SundayA total of 5 targets in 4 games will do this to you pic.twitter.com/25tacVpI0f There appears to be a lack of chemistry between Jennings and his quarterbacks, and he is clearly a far worse fit in Kevin O'Connell's offense than that of Kyle Shanahan.
For those reasons, and because he can leave of his own volition at the end of the season, the Vikings could work toward a trade over the next month. These five teams would be ideal landing spots for Jennings should a trade materialize. A return to the Bay Area almost makes too much sense.
It was with the 49ers that Jennings developed from a seventh-round pick into the team's top wide receiver. He was a highly reliable fan favorite who led San Francisco's wideouts in 2024 and 2025 and developed a reputation as a premier third-down weapon and run blocker. His usage would balloon if he got out of a poor situation in Minnesota and returned to the one that made him the best version of himself.
While the 49ers elected last spring to save money instead of retaining Jennings on a multi-year contract extension, he only landed a modest one-year deal anyway with the Vikings. It would seemingly not cost San Francisco nearly as much to bring him back on his current deal as it would have to re-sign him last offseason, and if money is no longer an issue, the reunion is a slam dunk. Plus, the 49ers are in serious need of wide receiver help.
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