Christian Kirk Traded To Texans, Jaguars Receive 7th Round Pick In Trade
The Houston Texans have made a decision to enhance their receiving group with the recent Christian Kirk trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Instead of being cut and entering NFL free agency as many thought he would, Kirk will remain in the AFC South, joining a Texans team eager to build on their achievements from the past couple of seasons. In return, Jacksonville will receive a 2026 7th round draft pick, which helps them relieve some salary cap pressure.
NFL Trades: WR Christian Kirk Traded From Jaguars To Texans For 7th Round Pick
This Christian Kirk trade represents a big change for the WR. Although he showed moments of brilliance in Jacksonville, injuries held him back last season. Now, at 28, he has a chance to start fresh in Houston, where he will team up with Pro Bowl receiver Nico Collins and give quarterback C.J. Stroud another dependable option.
While this Christian Kirk trade might not seem huge at first glance, it could have significant effects for both teams. For the Texans, it’s a chance to improve their receiving lineup without a hefty financial burden. For the Jaguars, it’s a step towards reshaping their roster and freeing up cap space.
Christian Kirk Stats & PFF Grades
Kirk has been a dependable player in his career when healthy. In only eight games with Jacksonville last season, he made 27 catches on 47 targets for 379 yards and one touchdown. His average of 14.0 yards per reception showed he can make big plays, but his overall performance was among the lowest for qualified receivers.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave him a 67.9 overall grade for the 2024 season, ranking him 62nd out of 98 wide receivers. Christian Kirk’s PFF receiving grade was slightly better at 68.2, placing him 63rd. Even with these challenges, Kirk remained a strong deep threat, averaging a depth of target of 13.7 yards, which was 18th among all wide receivers.
Although his 2024 season was not as good as his breakout year, seeing Christian Kirk’s stats total 1,108 yards in 2022, this is a situation where he will have the chance to have a rebound type of season. If he can avoid injuries, he could become a valuable part of the Texans’ offense.
Christian Kirk Contract
Kirk is entering the last year of his four-year, $72 million contract, which he signed in 2022. This deal includes $37 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus.
In 2025, he will earn a base salary of $15.5 million and a $500,000 workout bonus, totaling a cap hit of $16.24 million. After this Christian Kirk trade to Houston, the Texans will take on the final year of this Christian Kirk contract.
Christian Kirk Injury History
“Christian Kirk injuries” has become a quite common search term during the season these days. He’s faced multiple derailments during his career, with some even keeping him out for long stretches. In 2024, he fractured his collarbone in Week 8 against the Packers, which ended his season early.
Earlier that year, he had a mild calf injury during training camp but recovered quickly. In 2023, he suffered a serious groin tear in Week 13, putting him on injured reserve for the last five games.
This wasn't his first groin issue; he had a strain in 2020 that made him miss one game. Other injuries include a sprained ankle in 2019 that sidelined him for three weeks and a fractured foot in his rookie year (2018), as this first of many Christian Kirk injuries shut him down for the final four games of his initial campaign.
Houston Texans Depth Chart (WR)
TEXANS WR DEPTH CHART | |||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Stefon Diggs (Q) | |||
Tank Dell (Q) | |||
The Houston Texans WR depth chart becomes stronger and more versatile with the Christian Kirk trade. Currently, Nico Collins is the main receiving option for the team, while Stefon Diggs could add another top threat if he stays healthy.
WR Tank Dell has shown he can be a significant contributor when in the lineup, but he may be sidelined for a while. In addition to the top players, the Texans WR depth chart is fairly deep with John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson.
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Beat reporter John Hendrix reports that free agent WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is among the 16 players that the Saints will host for their rookie minicamp.
Peoples-Jones last played regular season snaps with the Lions back in 2023, when he caught 13-of-24 targets for 155 yards. He is highly unlikely to return to fantasy relevance at this point but could perhaps sign on as a special teams contributor.
Titans signed fourth-round pick WR Elic Ayomanor to a four-year contract.
Ayomanor will now begin learning behind Calvin Ridley. Although Ayomanor is unlikely to find a meaningful role in year one, dynasty managers should note his status as training camp gets underway this summer. The former Stanford receiver flashed big-play ability in his two college seasons.
Buccaneers signed seventh-round pick WR Tez Johnson to a four-year contract.
Johnson will serve as a rotational deep-threat option for Baker Mayfield. His thin frame (5'10/154) simply does not lend itself to the repeated hits one incurs in a full-time role. Johnson did earn 100-plus targets in his two seasons at Oregon, though. His big-play style make him a better fit in best ball for now, pending any major on-field breakthroughs.
Giants waived DT Casey Rogers.
Rogers was a 2024 undrafted free agent and logged 33 defensive snaps for the Giants in his rookie season. He is credited with zero tackles and/or sacks. He may find his way onto another roster as a practice squad option.
Vikings signed third-round pick WR Tai Felton to a four-year contract.
Felton is quietly in play to challenge Vikings No. 3 WR Jalen Nailor in training camp. Nailor (5'11/190) caught 28-of-42 targets for 414 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter last year, with the latter category buoying his fantasy productivity. Felton (6'1/183), meanwhile, caught 96-of-143 targets for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 2.32 yards per route run in his final college season. Fantasy managers should monitor Felton’s training camp reports this summer, as he could have a matchup-based WR5 role if everything falls into place.