So, is Jauan Jennings going to clock in at work on Monday?

Does it even matter at this point?

Welcome to Week 1 of the NFL season, where the 49ers are, for the third straight season, dealing with a high-profile, completely avoidable contract-related distraction. This is not the clean slate this team promised after a six-win season.

No, this has all the hallmarks of the same, tired movie we saw in 2023 and 2024.

Though this time, I’m not sure the Niners are the villain.

And I definitely don’t expect Kyle Shanahan to be running through the facility — Tom Cruise-style — as part of a dramatic climax.

Related Articles

Best division in football? Breaking down how the 49ers stack up against their NFC West rivals

Two wide receivers and no punter — the 49ers’ work-in-progress roster shows its flaws

Kurtenbach: Jake Moody’s latest misses should seal his 49ers’ fate

49ers Studs and Duds: Niners end preseason with more questions than answers

The 49ers are panic-buying to cover their roster-building mistakes

Yes, this showdown is different and, frankly, less important. Because while prior down-to-the-wire contract fiascos involved top-of-the-line players — Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and Brandon Aiyuk — this one does not.

Don’t get me wrong: Jennings is a winning player — an asset to any team he’d be on. But he’s a situational player on a contract that pays him like one, asking for every-down money from a team that’s already decided he’s not an every-down guy.

The 49ers didn’t just stumble into this standoff. They’ve been planning for Jennings’ exit since February.

This team’s entire offseason was about correcting past mistakes — namely, the kind of budget-busting contracts that created nearly $100 million in dead money. Paying big money to role players is how you get into that mess in the first place. The front office immediately regretted Brandon Aiyuk’s contract, and he was a bonafide, proven No. 1 receiver. Jennings is a No. 3 who didn’t lead the team in receptions or crack 1,000 yards last year.

San Francisco has spent the last few months insulating itself for the loss of Jennings, an exceptional depth piece. Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins Demarcus Robinson — they can all be No. 2s and 3s. Pearsall can step up and be the No. 1 until Aiyuk returns.

You can disagree with that assessment of Jennings by the Niners but you can’t deny that the assessment was made. They might be heading into the 2025 season, but they’ve been solely focused on 2026 and beyond. There’s no scenario they envisioned where Jennings was a part of it.

I don’t think Jennings sees that.

He makes great plays on the field, but off the field, he’s botched rep after rep.

A big part of his so-called leverage is the 49ers’ current injury plague at wide receiver. The team needs bodies, right?

Well, he’s hurt, too, right?

Even if he showed up tomorrow, he hasn’t been running. He’s weeks away from playing at full speed. By the time he reaches that level, Robinson or Watkins could be back. Aiyuk will return at some point this season. The window where the Niners were truly, utterly desperate for him to be on the field is closing, if it hasn’t slammed shut already.

And it brings us back to the critical error in this Jennings’ saga. In football — much like life — timing is everything.

Jennings’ timing with this was all off.

Related Articles

49ers’ defense can feast on Sunday buffet of mediocre quarterbacks

Why Marques Sigle could be the 49ers’ biggest early-impact rookie

49ers bring back defensive tackle Evan Anderson to practice squad

Best division in football? Breaking down how the 49ers stack up against their NFC West rivals

San Jose focusing on resident, fan experiences with Super Bowl, March Madness and World Cup approaching

The time to ask for a trade and a new contract was in the winter. The 49ers could have flipped him to a team willing to pay him—some franchise that didn’t watch him get shut down by press coverage in the second half of last season.

The Niners would have gotten their precious draft capital. Jennings would have gotten his bag. Everyone would have won.

Instead, Jennings waited. Now, he’s an injured, disgruntled, pending free agent with zero trade value. He’s torpedoed his own worth.

Leaving us all watching a staring contest where neither side looks likely to blink.

The 49ers made their decision on Jennings a long time ago. This saga is regrettable, but it was also inevitable.

Jennings, on the other hand, is stuck on a team that won’t pay him, nursing an injury that (allegedly) keeps him from proving he’s worth paying.

He misread the room, mismanaged his timing, and picked a fight he was never going to win.

So how does this end?

The only way it can now: with both righteously indignant parties losing.

The 49ers will likely win the contractual war, but in the process, they’ll be without a tough, wubbubg player they could have really used for a big Week 1 game. In all likelihood, they’ll also lose Jennings’ indomitable spirit, too.

But in this showdown, Jennings will just lose — money, reps, and, with the Niners leaking unflattering negotiation details in recent days, respect.

It’s a lose-lose.

It’s too late for anything else.