49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Reveals Reason for Jauan Jennings’ Absence

The San Francisco 49ers have been ravaged by injuries to their wide receivers, and fans have been puzzled by Jauan Jennings’ lingering calf injury that seems to be not healing.

Yet, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan addressed Jennings’ continued absence after their 30-9 loss to the Denver Broncos in each team’s preseason opener Saturday.

Jennings, who had a breakout season and posted career highs in catches (77), yards (975) and touchdowns (6), was hoping for a consistent follow up.

Still, Shanahan has to get him on the field first, since he and Brandon Aiyuk continue to be sidelined due to injury.

What Did Kyle Shanahan Say About Jauan Jennings’ Injury?

Shanahan was asked about Jennings’ continued curious absence, and he seemed frustrated by the ongoing nature of the ailment.

“This actually is why he missed OTAs, with his calf,” Shanahan said. “It’s the same injury he had last training camp that caused him to miss a couple of weeks of training camp last year. We didn’t get him ’til the end of training camp last year.”

It does not bode well that Jennings continues to suffer through an injury that cost him time more than a year ago. But the positive fact is Jennings played through that injury and had by far his best season of four in the NFL.

According to Shanahan, Jennings has had imaging on his calf that shows the injury. So even though he did not offer a timetable for Jennings to return, Shanahan was hopeful that Jennings would be back soon.

“It’s the same thing on the MRI,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully we’ll get him back sooner than later.”

What Did Kyle Shanahan Say About Brandon Aiyuk?

Aiyuk remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from the damaging knee injury he sustained in the Niners’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024.

But Shanahan offered a timetable for Aiyuk to come back, as well as the wideout’s teammates safety Malik Mustapha or backup quarterback Kurtis Rourke, each of whom is recovering from a knee injury too.

“I kind of view all those guys around the same time,” Shanahan said, according to ESPN. “Whether it’s Mustapha, whether it’s Rourke or whether it’s Brandon. They’re all at different stages, but where they’re at, I always see ’em around Week 6, which means that could be Week 10, it means it could be Week 5, but that’s the area where I start thinking about it, which is a long way away.”

Aiyuk, of course, had a career year in 2023 yet fell off a season ago after missing most of training camp due to a contract dispute. He came back in time for Week 1 but posted 25 catches for 374 yards and did not have a touchdown in seven games before tearing his ACL against KC.

So unsurprisingly, Shanahan confirmed Aiyuk, Mustapha and Rourke are all low on his priority list, especially with key roster decisions to make.

“I know it’s not Week 1 or anything like that,” Shanahan said. “So it’s something I’m not really thinking about too much.”