Christian Kirk won’t be launched in spite of everything. The Jaguars are shifting on from the veteran wideout however will achieve this through commerce as an alternative.
Kirk is heading to the Texans, as first reported by Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Houston will ship Jacksonville a 2026 seventh-round choose, she adds. Kirk won’t hit the market in consequence, and he’ll proceed his profession on a brand new AFC South staff.
One 12 months stays on the 28-year-old’s contract, an element which helped inform the Jags’ decision to move on. This swap will generate $10.44M in cap financial savings whereas incurring a useless cash cost of $13.65M. Kirk is owed a $15.5M wage for 2025, however he may work out a brand new deal upon arrival in Houston.
The Texans entered 2024 with excessive expectations on the receiver place. Nico Collins, Tank Dell and commerce acquisition Stefon Diggs figured to provide the staff one of many league’s prime WR trios. Diggs suffered an ACL tear halfway by the season and Dell later did the identical. The latter’s availability for 2025 is in query.
Diggs is a pending free agent, so the possibility of a departure on his half together with Dell’s harm standing made the Texans a staff to observe relating to a notable wideout addition. Earlier than the mix, it turned clear Houston can be open to re-signing Diggs, however this transfer more and more factors towards him no less than testing the market subsequent week. In any case, Kirk shall be tasked with working as a powerful complementary choice to Collins in 2025.
After enjoying out his rookie contract with the Cardinals, Kirk inked a four-year pact to go to Jacksonville. The $18M AAV of that deal raised many eyebrows on the time, however the receiver market has since seen two main spikes because the NFL’s wage cap continues to develop quickly. Nonetheless, if the previous second-rounder goals to safe a increase along with his new staff, he may very well be hard-pressed in that effort.
Kirk logged a full season in 2022, however his Jaguars follow-up was restricted to solely 12 video games. This previous season, the Texas A&M product suffered a damaged collarbone, sidelining him after eight contests. That harm left him off the midseason commerce market, which was notable for the reason that Steelers reportedly reached settlement on a swap previous to the harm. Within the wake of the missed time, the Jags’ new regime will transfer in a special path whereas seeking to construct a receiving corps round Trevor Lawrence.
That course of will little doubt lean closely on Offensive Rookie of the Yr finalist Brian Thomas Jr., however WR shall be a place to observe for Jacksonville this offseason. A variety of high-profile wideouts are on observe to achieve the market, together with some veterans (Davante Adams, Tyler Lockett) who’ve lately been lower. Kirk won’t be on that checklist, as his 2025 state of affairs has already been decided.
