The Jacksonville Jaguars may get an important offensive piece back soon. On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson said wide receiver Christian Kirk could be back on the practice field as early as Wednesday.
“He’s doing really well,” Pederson said of Kirk on Monday. “Yes, I would say there’s a potential to activate his window come Wednesday. We’ll see where he’s at there in a couple of days, which would be positive if he could do something this week.”
Kirk, 27, suffered a core muscle injury on the Jaguars’ first offensive play in a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The injury required surgery and, according to media reports, was expected to keep the receiver out 6-8 weeks.
“It was definitely a bad injury for him and bad for our offense,” Pederson said. “He’s in a position right now to maybe help us this week and we’ll see where he’s at. If we go ahead and open his window on Wednesday and get him out there, see what he can do. You definitely want your best players on the field this time of year and he’s one of those players for us.”
Prior to the injury, Kirk was the Jaguars’ leading receiver. While Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram have both passed Kirk’s receiving total, he still has 57 receptions for 787 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.
Without Kirk in the offense, the Jaguars offense has struggled to avoid turnovers which have often stemmed from miscommunications between quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his receivers.
If Kirk’s window to return from injured reserve is opened Wednesday, the receiver will be allowed to practice with the team for as many as 21 days without counting against the 53-man roster limit. Jacksonville could activate Kirk and move him to the active roster at any time during that window.
