"We done have some battles, man. We done have some battles," Ward said Wednesday during an interview with Bay Area radio station KNBR. "But it's all friendly fire. We enemies between the lines, but off the field, that's my dawg. That's my dawg, for sure."
The 49ers inked Jennings to a contract extension, keeping him signed through the 2025 season. Jennings, who joined the interview, hopes these valuable offseason battles with Ward will help him become a better all-around player.
"Always making each other better," Jennings noted. "... I love going against Mooney (Ward's nickname). It's like the best corner we got out there as far as physicality-wise and [coverage]. So, if I beat Mooney, I feel like I can beat anybody else in the league."
Jennings admits that there's plenty of trash talk between the offense and defense on the practice field. The offense seemingly emerged victorious during Wednesday's practice. However, on Monday and Tuesday, the defense shone, intercepting quarterback Brock Purdy seven times.
For Jennings, it's all about iron sharpening iron.
"We always tell the defense, 'Man, if this was a real game, we would have been up 14-0 before that interception,'" Jennings joked with Ward in the room. "It's part of the game, and we love when our defense gets us because it's only making us better."
To casual fans, Jennings' statistics may not be particularly impressive. He has amassed just 963 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over the past three seasons. However, anyone who witnessed Jennings' performances in the playoffs last season knows that his value extends beyond the stats.
Jennings recorded 42 receiving yards in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, including crucial touchdowns—one receiving and one passing. Yes, passing. Jennings threw a touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey on a trick play and could easily have been named Super Bowl MVP.
"All I know is when I saw a defender rushing me, and I knew I had to get the ball out, I got hit, and I just saw Christian running into the end zone. Man, it just fired me up, and I just knew we was winning that game," Jennings said.
Unfortunately, the 49ers didn't win the game and are now focused on rebounding from that gut-wrenching defeat by winning a championship this season.
"It makes you hungry every year," Jennings commented. "You get that close, you gotta have a little miracle on your side, too, to win those type of games, and we just didn't get it done. But it just proves that we gotta play four quarters of football."
As for Ward, when asked about his goals for the upcoming season, he responded, "I'm just trying to be the best Mooney I can be. I'm trying to be better than I was last year. I don't want to put a number or anything on it because that's what they going to judge me by, you know what I mean? But I'm trying to be better than I was last year, for sure."
You can listen to the entire radio interview below.
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