SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Speaking for the first time since a Nov. 30 win against the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings said Monday his trash talk in that game wasn't as out of pocket as the Browns suggested.
"I thought it was just a lot of talk, honestly," Jennings said. "I think they wanted some attention."
After the 49ers beat the Browns 26-8, multiple Cleveland players told reporters that Jennings had crossed the line with some of his trash talk during the game. Defensive lineman Shelby Harris said, "I'm surprised nobody punched him in the jaw yet."
Because the Niners were on bye last week, Jennings' first opportunity to address those comments came Monday as the team began preparing for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.
Asked whether he believed his comments to the Browns were over the line, Jennings said he did not believe that to be the case.
"He said some things, so why he ain't saying what he said?" Jennings said. "I do know it ain't that bad. That's what I do know. I'm going to just keep it to myself of what I said, but I know it wasn't that bad and he knows that. It's funny.
"If he sees me to smack me, maybe I'll find out that day."
Jennings has, on multiple occasions, drawn the ire of opponents for both his physical style of play and his brand of trash talk. In the Nov. 24 win against the Carolina Panthers, Jennings got into it with safety Tre'von Moehrig, who was suspended for a game for delivering a low blow to Jennings during the game.
After that game, Jennings responded by hitting Moehrig before they were broken up. Moehrig accused Jennings of playing dirty and "talking crazy." Jennings was fined $12,172 for the postgame punch.
On Monday, Jennings said he does have a limit on what he believes should be off limits in terms of trash talk.
"Killing people, you shouldn't say you're going to kill someone," Jennings said. "To me, that's where you draw the line."
Harris, in the days after his initial comments about Jennings, went on to further explain the limits he believes should be in place on his podcast, "We're the Harrises." Harris indicated Jennings' trash talk was too personal.
"You can say whatever the hell you want to," Harris said. "But usually, when we're inside those white lines, people's families, people's wives, people's children, are off limits."
On Dec. 1, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he did talk to Jennings about the incident but that because he didn't hear what was said, he couldn't have a full opinion about the content of those comments.
"I love how Jauan plays," Shanahan said. "I think Jauan plays to the whistle as well as any player in this league. He's extremely aggressive and plays as hard as he can to the whistle and he's been doing that since he's been here. I think sometimes that offends other players and rubs people the wrong way because they're not used to people going that hard to the whistle. But I think JJ is very good at not breaking the rules."
On Monday, Jennings made clear he doesn't intend to change how he plays, noting that his approach is rooted in his background as an undrafted player who has carved out a career with his style of play.
"I think it just comes back from just how I grew up," Jennings said. "Underdog mentality. A five-star recruit, [who has been] told he's going to win and then he meets the underdog and the five-star recruit doesn't know how to deal with that sometimes."
Jennings, who has 41 catches for 458 yards and five touchdowns this season, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in March.
