Injuries have ravaged the San Francisco 49ers across their first six games with numerous standout players impacted, and wide receiver Jauan Jennings was among those to miss time. He returned to action Sunday in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a pair of absences and after the game revealed that he is playing through a number of ailments. Jennings, who led the 49ers in targets during a breakout 2024 season, said that he has five broken ribs as well as high and low ankle sprains and bad shoulders.
The rib injuries occurred on Sept. 28 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and held Jennings out for one game. The ankle and shoulder issues popped up earlier in the year and forced him to sit out a contest in September.
“Playing with injuries, it’s part of it,” Jennings said after Sunday’s 30-19 loss. “You got high and low ankle sprains. You got shoulders at 20%. You got five broken ribs. It is what it is. You keep playing. Nobody cares. You keep playing. That’s what we do.”
Jennings was a game-time decision Sunday and spent the week as a limited participant in practice. The ailments seemed to take a toll on his production in the Week 6 defeat. He caught just one pass for seven yards in a game where the 49ers largely moved the ball well through the air. Quarterback Mac Jones, filling in for an injured Brock Purdy, racked up 347 passing yards but hit the team’s top wideout only the one time in doing so.
“I love pain,” Jennings said. “I wouldn’t be playing this sport if I didn’t. It’s part of it. You gotta enjoy every little thing that comes with it, and pain is one of those.”
Jennings, a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is in his fifth year with the 49ers and, when healthy, is the best receiver on the roster. He reached that status last season when he logged career-best marks with 77 receptions, 975 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He finished second only to George Kittle in the receiving department but saw more targets than the tight end.
The 49ers injury report seemingly gets longer by the week. Linebacker Fred Warner suffered a season-ending broken and dislocated ankle in the loss, which dealt another devastating blow to a team already lacking some of its most important players. Purdy and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall were among the inactives in Week 6, Kittle is on injured reserve with a hamstring issue and defensive end Nick Bosa is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Add Comment