Christian Kirk’s latest ‘wake up’ comments will fire up Jaguars fans

Kirk had a difficult year in 2023 for Jacksonville. The receiver missed the last five games of the year due to an injury. He underwent core muscle surgery following the season. It was a hard pill to swallow for the team, as the Jaguars missed the NFL playoffs by just a hair. Kirk is one of the most experienced players in the receiver room, and wants to be a leader for the team.

“Biggest part about being a leader is knowing the people that you’re leading and knowing how they respond to certain things. Adverse situations. Whether it’s coaching or advice. So, just being an open book for them and giving them my experiences that I’ve had, and giving them all the tools that I can to help them be successful,” Kirk added.

The Jaguars no longer have Zay Jones or Calvin Ridley, so Kirk is likely to get a lot of targets this year. The receiver has been quite productive for the team in the past. Last season, he had 787 receiving yards, despite missing the team’s last five games. He also earned 57 receptions for the Jaguars.

It was his second season with the team. He finished his first year in Jacksonville with more than 1,100 yards receiving, in 2022. In two seasons in north Florida, Kirk has 11 touchdown catches. Before coming to the Jaguars, Kirk played for the Arizona Cardinals for four seasons.

Jaguars’ 2024 outlook

The Jaguars have tremendous expectations in 2024. The team has a healthy Trevor Lawrence, who played the last several weeks of the previous season with a hurt shoulder. Kirk is also back in the swing of things. The Jaguars used their first-round draft pick to add talent to their offense, selecting LSU football wide receiver Brian Thomas. Thomas and Kirk are surely going to be relied upon to come up with a lot of receptions. Jacksonville also added Gabe Davis to help their receiver room.

The Jaguars finished the 2023 campaign with a 9-8 record, second in the AFC South. Jacksonville is searching for its first Super Bowl championship in franchise history. The team last made the playoffs in 2022, but has made the postseason only once in the last five years.