The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to trade wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston Texans for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, according to a league source.
Why they made the move
The Jaguars already decided to release Kirk, but the Texans swooped in Thursday afternoon to execute a deal before the transaction took place.
The Jaguars freed up $10.4 million of salary cap space by unloading Kirk. Their new regime, led by general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen, identified the 28-year-old wideout as a natural place to start trimming contracts. Kirk had an electric first season with the Jaguars in 2022, but his statistics plummeted over the past two seasons as injuries cost him 14 games.
The Texans need insurance at the position behind Nico Collins, as Stefon Diggs is heading for free agency and Tank Dell is rehabbing a major knee injury. When healthy, Kirk can still be a reliable No. 2 wideout with enough speed to get behind the defense.
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Texans trade grade: Sure, why not?
Kirk can make up to $16.5 million in the final year of his contract, which is a perfectly reasonable amount for a second receiver.
After the Rams rewarded Tutu Atwell earlier in the day with a one-year, $10 million contract, it can be reasonably expected Kirk would have drawn something comparable to his original terms on the open market. And really, he may have drawn a deal with guaranteed money into the second year.
Kirk’s injuries are a concern, but he’s still in his prime. If he’s healthy, this will wind up being a solid acquisition for Houston. The Texans should still be in the receiver market after this, though.
Jaguars trade grade: It’s something…
Sure, it’s nice to recoup a pick for a player who was going to be released. It’s essentially free money.
This one comes with more risk, though, as the Texans wrestled away the AFC South from the Jaguars over the past two seasons. It’s curious for the Jaguars to send a good player to the team they’re chasing when the late-round future draft compensation won’t pay dividends for at least a couple of seasons, if at all. (Or, the pick could give the Jags an extra trade chip to move up the board next month.)
Maybe Kirk would have wound up with the Texans after his release anyway. Maybe he would have even signed for less money than he’s owed on the balance of his current deal, meaning they could have saved the cap space by holding onto their pick. And maybe the Jaguars aren’t set up to make a run at the division title in 2025 either way.
But if Kirk becomes an AFC South nemesis or even burns the Jags a few times in 2025, this one could sting in Jacksonville.
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
