49ers GM John Lynch refuses to trade Jauan Jennings despite his request

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49ers GM John Lynch refuses to trade Jauan Jennings despite his request

2025-08-28 06:23 Last Updated At：06:41

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — General manager John Lynch said the San Francisco 49ers won't trade disgruntled receiver Jauan Jennings despite a request made earlier this summer.

“He asked for it and we’ve moved on,” Lynch said Wednesday. “We’re not doing that. We’re moving forward.”

While Lynch was definitive about keeping Jennings despite his desire for a new contract, there is still uncertainty about when Jennings will be able to play because of a calf injury.

Jennings has missed almost all of training camp and there is no timeline for when he will return.

“Jauan’s still working through his his calf issue, making progress,” Lynch said. “We’re kind of like everyone else, hopeful but not sure on Week 1."

Jennings is entering the final season of a two-year, $15.4 million contract and is seeking a long-term extension before the season. Lynch said the team doesn't view Jennings' absence as a “hold-in,” saying that the injury is legitimate.

“Both things can be true,” Lynch said. “He wants a new contract, and he’s got a hurt calf. I think people want to assume one or the other. Both things can be true.”

The 2020 seventh-round pick has emerged as one of Brock Purdy’s most trusted options at wide receiver after having 77 catches for 975 yards and six TDs last season.

His absence has contributed to making the receiver position a major question mark for San Francisco after Deebo Samuel was traded to Washington in the offseason and Brandon Aiyuk is out at least the first month recovering from knee surgery.

San Francisco had only two healthy receivers on the initial 53-man roster — Ricky Pearsall and newly acquired Skyy Moore — but was working to add reinforcements.

Lynch said the team has agreed to a deal with Marquez Valdes-Scantling after he was cut by Seattle and was bringing back Russell Gage to the 53-man roster after he was cut Tuesday.

Jacob Cowing was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with a hamstring injury, rookie Jordan Watkins has been out with an ankle injury and Demarcus Robinson is suspended the first three games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Valdes-Scantling provides another option, as well as speed on the outside to stretch the field.

The 30-year-old Valdez-Scantling split time last season with Buffalo and New Orleans, recording 19 catches for 411 yards and four TDs. He has 205 career catches for 3,566 yards and 20 TDs in seven seasons that also included time in Green Bay and Kansas City.

Valdez-Scantling’s 17.4 yards per reception for his career rank fourth-best among all players with at least 200 catches since 1990.

Valdez-Scantling’s biggest production came in Green Bay and Kansas City, where he was a dependable deep threat for Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, respectively. He also had some big postseason performances with 24 catches for 406 yards and four TDs in 11 playoff games. He caught a TD pass from Mahomes against the 49ers in Super Bowl 58, helping Kansas City beat San Francisco 25-22 in overtime.

The 49ers open the season at Seattle on Sept. 7 with Valdes-Scantling going up against the team he was on for the entire offseason.

The Niners brough back punter Thomas Morstead to take Cowing's place on the roster after cutting him Tuesday in a procedural move. San Francisco didn't want to commit to using one of its eight return-from-IR designations on Cowing. He can return if the team decides to designate him later this season.

The 49ers also claimed defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson off waivers from Jacksonville and waived defensive lineman Evan Anderson.

San Francisco signed 13 players to the practice squad who all spent time with the team this summer.

The Niners brought back receivers Junior Bergen, Robbie Chosen and Malik Turner; defensive backs Eli Apple and Derrick Canteen; defensive linemen William Bradley-King, Trevis Gipson and Sebastian Valdez; linebackers Jalen Graham and Curtis Robinson; offensive linemen Drake Nugent and Nick Zakelj; and tight end Brayden Willis.

San Francisco also planned to sign former Jets practice squad quarterback Adrian Martinez to the practice squad.

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Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.