29-Year-Old Wide Receiver Signs Contract with the San Francisco 49ers
Last offseason, the Houston Texans traded for Jacksonville Jaguars 29-year-old wide receiver Christian Kirk, adding him next to other talented receivers such as Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Jayden Higgins, and Braxton Berrios. Houston made the playoffs for the third straight year after winning their final nine regular-season games. The Texans crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round before being eliminated by the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. Now a free agent, it was announced by Jordan Schultz that Kirk signed with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year, $6 million deal.
After playing three seasons at Texas A&M, Kirk was selected by the Arizona Cardinals as the 47th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. By his fourth season in Arizona, he was ranked as the third wide receiver on the Cardinals' depth chart; however, he finished the season leading the team with a career-high 77 catches for 982 yards and five touchdowns. During the 2022 NFL offseason, Kirk signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Jaguars. In his first season in Jacksonville, the 29-year-old recorded his first and only 1,000 + receiving yard season. His final two seasons weren’t as successful as the 2022 season. He missed the last five games with a core muscle injury in 2023 and suffered a season-ending broken collarbone during Week Eight in 2024. The Jaguars decided this was enough reason to trade him in the offseason.
This past season, Kirk played in 13 games. He had 28 receptions for 239 receiving yards and a touchdown. During the 30-6 Wild Card Round win over the Steelers, the 29-year-old recorded eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also scored a touchdown in the Texans' Divisional Round loss against the Patriots. Kirk’s best game from the 2025 season came against the Baltimore Ravens, where he recorded 64 yards in a dominant 44-10 win. There have been a few points in the 29-year-old’s career where he was at a Pro Bowl-caliber level, but over the past few seasons, that has sunk due to his injuries. Hopefully, with the 49ers, Kirk can call himself a Pro Bowl wide receiver for the first time in his career.
