The San Francisco 49ers on Monday held a bonus practice ahead of their first week of full practice for Week 1 of the regular season.
Present at Monday’s session was veteran wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who has been out since injuring his calf on July 27. Jennings also dealt with a calf injury in OTAs.
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This particular calf issue came after reports of a new contract demand from Jennings, who is due to make around $7.5 million this season while being slated as the No. 1 or 2 wide receiver on the depth chart. An injury combined with a contract dispute led to some speculation as to whether Jennings was actually hurt.
General manager John Lynch on Wednesday after final cuts intimated that Jennings’ injury and contract issues were both at play in his extended absence from training camp and the preseason. Whatever was ailing Jennings apparently cleared up enough for the 2020 seventh-round pick to get back into action for Monday’s extra practice.
Getting Jennings back is a significant win for the 49ers as they deal with a rash of injury issues in their receiving corps. Ricky Pearsall, Skyy Moore and Russell Gage were the only trio of healthy WRs on the roster while Jennings was out. Adding him back into the mix gives them a stronger top three with Jennings, Pearsall and one of a handful of in-house veteran options.
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Jennings last season in an expanded role hauled in a career-high 77 catches for a career-high 975 yards. He also set a career-high with six receiving touchdowns.
Participation reports aren’t due for Monday’s added session, so how much Jennings is on the field for practice remains to be seen. We’ll get our first participation report after Wednesday’s practice and that will shed more light on Jennings’s potential availability for the season opener Sunday in Seattle.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers injury news: Jauan Jennings returns to practice ahead of Week 1
