The wait is over. Well, it is for Jauan Jennings, who signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings for $8 million, with a chance to hit $13 million in incentives.
There will not be a compensatory pick going to the San Francisco 49ers for this. For two reasons pointed out by Jason Hurley. The first is that this signing comes after the April 27 deadline. That really should be the end of the discussion there. Once the NFL Draft begins, any unrestricted free agent who is signed with a team is not factored into the NFL’s compensatory pick formula.
The other reason, to back up the above, is that the 49ers also signed Mike Evans in free agency. Had this contract been signed before the NFL Draft, the Evans signing would have been included, and that $20.1 million per year would have canceled out what Jennings would have made.
Even if Jennings did get a deal, Evans most likely would have put an end to that. The 49ers got Evans for a bit higher than their reported $17 million offer to Jennings in the offseason, while Jennings, even if all incentives are hit, will make less than his $20 million+ price tag when free agency began.
It was pretty clear that when Evans was signed (followed by Christian Kirk), Jennings’s role was questionable. Once the 49ers drafted De’Zhaun Stribling, the room got crowded enough that there may not have been any room left.
Jennings is on a one-year deal with the Vikings. Enough time to prove he’s worth more than $20 million in 2027 free agency.
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