Is wide receiver Christian Kirk a potential cut candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason?
Pro Football Network seems to think so. PFN put together their list of potential cut candidates for each team, and the player they mentioned for the Jaguars was Kirk.
During the 2022 season, Kirk’s first with the Jaguars, he would eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark. However, the past two seasons have been cut short due to injury, with Kirk playing in just 12 games in 2023 and then only eight games in 2024.
PFN isn’t the first to suggest that Kirk could be a cut candidate either. In fact, ESPN’s Ben Solak has predicted that either Kirk or Evan Engram will be released by the Jaguars this offseason.
Kirk comes with a cap hit of $24.08 million in 2025, which is the largest on the team. If released, Kirk leaves behind a hefty dead cap hit–which are dollars that still count towards the salary cap, even if Kirk is playing elsewhere–of $13.6 million. But that’s also a net savings of $10.43 million in cap space, which could be utilized elsewhere.
Overall, the Jaguars have over $35 million in cap space at the moment, but in terms of spending power, that ranks 17th in the NFL. So depending on how they want to approach free agency this offseason, one could justify Jacksonville needing more cap space than what they currently have.
The emergence of Brian Thomas Jr. last season would make this move more easy to absorb, but receiver then likely becomes a bigger need for the Jaguars to address in some capacity.
When on the field, Kirk has been productive, averaging almost 14.0 yards per catch the last two seasons and targeted often within the offense. That production would have to be replaced.
In addition to Thomas and Kirk, the other Jacksonville receivers currently under contract for the 2025 season are Gabe Davis, Josh Reynolds, Devin Duvernay, Parker Washington, Austin Trammell, David White Jr., and Josh Cephus.
