The return of Christian Kirk is underway for the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Wednesday, the team officially opened the 21-day window for the wide receiver to return from the injured reserve.
Kirk, 27, was the Jaguars’ leading receiver when he landed on IR in early December after suffering a core muscle injury in a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After surgery to repair the issue, Kirk wasted no time rehabbing the injury for a potential return.
“He’s doing really well,” Jaguars coach Doug 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.”
The Jaguars can move Kirk to the active roster anytime before Jan. 24, making him available for games.
Without Kirk in the lineup, the Jacksonville passing offense has faltered. Reasons for the struggles have included shoddy offensive line play, an accumulation of injuries for Trevor Lawrence, and poor decision-making, at times.
But the absence of Kirk seems to have exacerbated the issue of frequent miscommunication between Lawrence and his receivers.
It’s unclear for now if Kirk has a chance at playing in the team’s Week 18 regular season finale against the Tennessee Titans. It looks like that return is coming sooner rather than later, though.
