Jaguars Place WR Christian Kirk on IR

The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed starting wide receiver Christian Kirk on injured reserve.

Kirk was injured on the Jaguars' first offensive play from scrimmage against the Cincinnati Bengals, a 26-yard catch that could be his final of the 2023 season.

On Tuesday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Kirk would likely need surgery for a core muscle injury.

In 12 games this year, Kirk has caught 57 passes for 787 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think there’s a certain trust that he has from the quarterbacks. All of the quarterbacks. Obviously, he and Trevor [Lawrence] have the most time on task together," Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said on Thursday. 

"Christian has a certain skillset that we feel like we’ve really identified and honed in on, things he does well, but things the quarterback can trust. There’s just that certain unknown element with throwing other people in these positions to do things that he does really well in our system. We have other guys that have skillsets that we’ll do our best to maximize and utilize those guys in certain situations, but it’s a big loss for a player with Christian’s caliber physically, but also mentally what he can do and the flexibility he has within the game and the system to be able to move around a little bit.”

Replacing Kirk in the lineup on Monday Night Football was sixth-round rookie wide receiver Parker Washington, who caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.

"Yeah, Parker is a guy we’ve known from the jump mentally that could handle a lot. It’s different when the bullets are flying, you’ve got ten seconds in the huddle and you’ve got to get to the line, you’ve got to execute and things are changing quickly like that," Taylor said. 

"But he handled himself pretty well out there. It helps having Evan [Engram] and Zay [Jones], guys that have had experience in the system and can help you get lined up and move around a little bit, but Parker did a good job for himself.”