Could Key Jaguars Hire Mean Good News For Christian Kirk?

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason is the status of one of their top playmakers in wide receiver Christian Kirk.

There is no question about Kirk's ability; when healthy, he has consistently been productive for the Jaguars and has proven to be one of Trevor Lawrence's favorite and most reliable weapons.

There has been the question of Kirk's contract moving forward, however. Kirk is set to carry a $24,119,294 cap hit in 2025 and the Jaguars would save $10,583,294 with a pre-June 1 release and $$16,351,294 with a post-June 1 release.

Considering the development of Parker Washington as Kirk's backup, it is a fair question to ask which way new head coach Liam Coen, his staff and the Jaguars' front office will view Kirk moving forward.

But perhaps we got an answer on which way the Jaguars' staff and Coen lean after the hiring of Spencer Whipple as quarterbacks coach.

No, Whipple will not be coaching Kirk -- he will be focused on Trevor Lawrence. But Whipple's ties to the Jaguars veteran receiver are impossible to ignore. After all, Coen called back to his friendship with Whipple when meeting Christian Kirk last week.

Whipple spent plenty of time with Kirk while with the Arizona Cardinals. He was offensive quality control coach in 2019 and then became assistant wide receivers coach for Kirk's last two seasons with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021.

Surely there is more that will go into the Kirk decision than whether some of his old coaches are on the staff, but it can't be denied that the addition of a coach who knows Kirk's game as well as Whipple does likely boosts his chances to return in 2025.

Kirk has long been one of the NFL's most underrated wide receivers, and Whipple has seen it firsthand as much as anyone. Whipple worked closely with Kirk as he matured as an NFL pro and became the type of receiver the Jaguars sought out in 2022.

In Kirk's final season with the Cardinals, then-head coach Kliff Kingsbury missed a game due to a positive COVID-19 test. Whipple stepped up as the team's play-caller on passing downs during a victory over the Browns, and Kirk had plenty to say about the coach.

"But like I said, there were so many people who stepped up. In regards to how the game was called the game plan is the game plan. We all have a good feel in certain situations on what play is going to be called, and, obviously Kliff develops that and we practice it all week. So, Spencer did a good job of sticking to it, but also being able to change on the fly," Kirk said.

Time will tell where Kirk plays next year, but the addition of Whipple can't hurt his chances for that to be in Jacksonville.

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