49ers won’t use franchise tag; Jennings RFA tender decision looms

Beginning on Tuesday until March 5, each NFL team is allowed to use its franchise tag to hold contractual control over their top free agent on a one-year deal. Again, the 49ers will sit this one out. They do not have anyone who fits the profile of a franchise player whose contract is set to expire. The 49ers' top free agency priority might be restricted free-agent wide receiver Jauan Jennings, whose profile increased with a strong Super Bowl LVIII showing. There are three options for Jennings, the team's No. 3 wide receiver who might become even more important to the 49ers with Brandon Aiyuk's uncertain status as he eyes a new contract this offseason. With each level the 49ers could tender Jennings, it comes with varying degrees of compensation the club would receive if he ends up signing a more-lucrative offer sheet with another club. The least-likely scenario is the 49ers providing Jennings with a first-round tender, which OverTheCap.com estimates to be $6.464 million for one season. In that scenario, if Jennings were to sign a multi-year contract with another team and San Francisco decline to match, it would receive a first-round draft pick as compensation. The second-round...