The Jacksonville Jaguars shocked the NFL when they shelled out a four-year, $72 million deal for new wide receiver Christian Kirk. It made the wideout a top-10 paid player in terms of average annual value. The move was head-scratching because Kirk has never eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in a season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Bleacher Report released its list of one offseason move every NFL team could regret and said the Jaguars may wish they never signed Kirk to such a large contract.
According to Spotrac, Kirk’s deal ranks sixth along with Tyler Lockett’s contract among wide receivers in guaranteed money ($37 million), and he’s tied with Tyreek Hill and Kenny Golladay for ninth at the position in average annual salary ($18 million).
Kirk will aid quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s development. He’s a shifty sure-handed receiver with a 65.9 percent catch rate who’s effective in the slot and out wide. The 25-year-old logged career highs in catches (77) and receptions (982) last year.
However, Kirk’s career production doesn’t warrant top-10 wideout money. He hasn’t logged 1,000 receiving yards or scored more than six touchdowns in a single season. The Jaguars may not regret signing him, but they won’t like his contract in a couple of years.
I strongly agree with Maurice Moton that the Jaguars could regret Kirk’s contract. Because of his middle-of-the-pack production, it would be stunning if any other team offered Kirk similar money that general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson did.
He also carefully distinguished that he only disliked the contract and not the actual addition of Kirk itself. However, it’s well known that the Jags will probably look to at least extend Kirk after the first two years of the deal if he’s a solid player worth keeping around.
Moton believes Kirk is a great player to add that can aid second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s development. The franchise entered the 2022 offseason, needing to upgrade its wide receiver room and certainly addressed that need in free agency.