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Jaguars, Texans Agree To Christian Kirk Trade

March 6th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Adam La Rose

Christian Kirk will not be released after all. The Jaguars are moving on from the veteran wideout, but they will do so via trade instead.

Kirk is heading to the Texans, as first reported by Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Houston will send Jacksonville a 2026 seventh-round pick, she adds. Kirk will not hit the market as a result, and he will continue his career on a new AFC South team.

[RELATED: Jaguars To Cut Evan Engram, Devin Duvernay, Josh Reynolds]

One year remains on the 28-year-old’s contract, a factor which helped inform the Jags’ decision to move on. This swap will generate $10.44MM in cap savings while incurring a dead money charge of $13.65MM. Kirk is owed a $15.5MM salary for 2025, but he could work out a new deal upon arrival in Houston.

The Texans entered 2024 with high expectations at the receiver position. Nico Collins, Tank Dell and trade acquisition Stefon Diggs figured to give the team one of the league’s top WR trios. Diggs suffered an ACL tear midway through the season and Dell later did the same, however. The latter’s availability for 2025 is in question.

Diggs is a pending free agent, so the chance of a departure on his part along with Dell’s injury status made the Texans a team to watch regarding a notable wideout addition. Prior to the Combine, it became clear Houston would be open to re-signing Diggs, but this move increasingly points toward him at least testing the market next week. In any case, Kirk will be tasked with operating as a strong complementary option to Collins in 2025.

After playing out his rookie contract with the Cardinals, Kirk inked a four-year pact to head to Jacksonville. The $18MM AAV of that deal raised many eyebrows at the time, but the receiver market has since seen two major spikes as the NFL’s salary cap continues to grow rapidly. If the former second-rounder aims to secure a raise with his new team, though, he could be hard-pressed in that effort.

Kirk logged a full season in 2022, but his Jaguars follow-up was limited to only 12 games. This past season, the Texas A&M product suffered a broken collarbone which sidelined him after eight contests. That injury left him off the midseason trade market, which was notable since the Steelers reportedly reached agreement on a swap prior to the injury. In the wake of the missed time, the Jags’ new regime will move in a different direction while looking to build a receiving corps around Trevor Lawrence.

That process will no doubt lean heavily on Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist Brian Thomas Jr., but WR will be a position to watch for Jacksonville this offseason. A number of high-profile wideouts are on track to reach the market, including some veterans (Davante Adams, Tyler Lockett) who have recently been cut. Kirk will not be on that list, as his 2025 situation has already been determined.

C Mitch Morse Retires

March 6th, 2025 at 10:14am CST by Adam La Rose

Mitch Morse‘s career has come to an end after 10 seasons in the NFL. The veteran center announced his retirement on Thursday.

“The things I’ll cherish most about my career are the relationships and bonds I created with my teammates, both on and off of the field,” Morse wrote. “Nothing can replace that, and I will miss it dearly.”

A Chiefs second-round pick in 2015, Morse took on immediate starting duties upon arrival in Kansas City. That remained the case throughout his four-year tenure with the team, one which was marked in 2017 and ’18 by missed time due to injury. During his first trip to free agency, Morse inked a four-year deal with the Bills.

That pact allowed the Missouri product to continue operating as a key figure up front. Morse was a mainstay along the Bills’ O-line during his time with the team, and he earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2022. A two-year deal was worked out in the wake of that success, but Morse only played one more year in Buffalo. Last offseason, he was one of several veterans the team released as part of its efforts to reset from a financial perspective.

Morse drew interest on the market, and he did not need to wait long to find a new home. The Jaguars signed him to a two-year pact, and in his debut campaign in Jacksonville Morse started all 17 games. $1.5MM in guarantees remained on his pact for the 2025 season, but he will walk away from that money to begin his post-playing days. Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald notes this decision will save the Jags $2.2MM (presuming it is processed immediately).

Morse made a combined 156 appearances between the regular and postseason during his career; he started all of them. Thanks in large part to his Bills contracts, his career earnings stand at just over $65MM.

Jaguars To Release WR Christian Kirk

March 5th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Sam Robinson

Yet another experienced receiver will be available to teams in free agency. The Jaguars are cutting ties with Christian Kirk, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. One season remained on Kirk’s contract.

Although Kirk suffered a broken collarbone midway through last season, he had served as Trevor Lawrence‘s top target for most his Jags tenure. As the team transitions to new HC Liam Coen, it will save $10.44MM by releasing Kirk.

While many of the experienced wideouts in this year’s free agent class are over 30, Kirk is 28. The former Cardinals second-rounder is heading into his age-29 season and should draw interest as a bounce-back candidate. Excelling in the slot in Jacksonville, Kirk posted an 1,108-yard season in 2022, helping the Jags to the playoffs and silencing some skeptics that expressed shock at the four-year, $72MM deal he inked that year.

Kirk’s $18MM-per-year deal helped ignite a surge on the receiver market. The Jags pact preceded Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams blowing the top off the previous market, and young wideouts like A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel and D.K. Metcalf came in with deals between that tier and where Kirk landed. The bevy of WRs who have signed monster deals over the past three years may owe some gratitude to Kirk, who positioned himself for the payday by hitting the market at 25 on the heels of a near-1,000-yard Arizona season.

Injuries, however, will factor into Kirk’s second free agent market. Core muscle surgery sidelined him to close the Jaguars’ 2023 season. The five games Kirk missed that year played a major role in the franchise’s trajectory. The Jags were 8-3 but slunk to 9-8. After they went 4-13 last season, ownership fired Doug Pederson and eventually Trent Baalke. Coen is now the lead power broker in Jacksonville, with GM James Gladstone riding shotgun. That duo will build around a receiving corps headlined by Brian Thomas Jr., as the team has now moved on from Kirk and Calvin Ridley in a two-year span.

For a period, the Jags had three free agent wideouts (Kirk, Ridley and Zay Jones) and a tight end (Evan Engram) attached to an eight-figure AAV. The team has stripped its pass-catching corps of most of those contracts, as Lawrence is now attached to a $55MM-per-year salary. Kirk’s departure, however, will create a need opposite Thomas in Jacksonville. Fortunately for the team, there are many options. Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Lockett headline the list. Marquise Brown, Josh Palmer, Darius Slayton and, should any team be up to the challenge of managing him after last year, Diontae Johnson are also among the available targets.

Jaguars Preparing Free Agent Pursuit Of CB Carlton Davis?

March 3rd, 2025 at 4:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Jaguars turned their free agent attention toward retaining in-house players last offseason, with the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen and Walker Little receiving lucrative extensions. A major pursuit of numerous outside options should not be expected in 2025, but one potential target has been linked to Jacksonville.

Jacksonville is set to “gauge the market” on Carlton Davis, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. The veteran corner spent his first six years with the Buccaneers, serving as a full-time starter during that stretch. Given Tampa Bay’s other investments in the secondary, though, the team traded Davis to the Lions last March.

The 28-year-old faced high expectations as part of Detroit’s multi-faceted efforts to improve at the cornerback position. Davis started all 13 of his Lions games but his campaign was ended due to a broken jaw. That missed time could hurt his value, but after posting a pair of interceptions and 11 pass deflections in 2024 the former second-rounder could still stand to do well in free agency. As of January, no talks on a re-up with Detroit had taken place.

Davis – whom Fowler had previously named as a potential Jaguars target – inked a three-year, $44.5MM Bucs extension in 2022. Corners rarely have the opportunity to secure lucrative third pacts during their careers, but his age and ball production (11 career interceptions, 84 pass breakups, four forced fumbles) could lead to strong outside interest. With more than $38MM in cap space, Jacksonville could afford a notable investment in Davis on the open market.

The new regime led by James Gladstone and Liam Coen faces a number of key decisions this offseason, but upgrading in the secondary is an obvious priority. The Jags finished last in the NFL in passing yards allowed in 2024 and they recorded only six interceptions. Tyson Campbell was among the players to receive large paydays last offseason, inking an extension averaging $19.13MM per year. No other major contracts are on the books at the cornerback position, but that could change if Davis reaches the market and entertains the idea of heading to Duval County.

Jaguars Eyeing WR Addition

February 23rd, 2025 at 8:02pm CST by Adam La Rose
  • In the same Fowler piece, he names the Jaguars as a team which could add at the receiver spot. In particular, a vertical threat appears to be on Jacksonville’s wishlist. First-rounder Brian Thomas Jr. had a Pro Bowl season as a rookie, averaging 14.7 yards per catch and scoring 10 touchdowns. Adding further speed alongside the LSU product would help the Jags’ offense, one which still has veteran Christian Kirk in the fold as things stand. Making a call on retaining or releasing the latter will be one of new general manager James Gladstone‘s early priorities.

    [SOURCE LINK]
  • In the same Fowler piece, he names the Jaguars as a team which could add at the receiver spot. In particular, a vertical threat appears to be on Jacksonville’s wishlist. First-rounder Brian Thomas Jr. had a Pro Bowl season as a rookie, averaging 14.7 yards per catch and scoring 10 touchdowns. Adding further speed alongside the LSU product would help the Jags’ offense, one which still has veteran Christian Kirk in the fold as things stand. Making a call on retaining or releasing the latter will be one of new general manager James Gladstone‘s early priorities.

Jaguars Hire James Gladstone As GM

February 21st, 2025 at 10:08pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Jaguars are hiring Rams director of scouting strategy James Gladstone as their next general manager, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The team confirmed the hire via social media, and Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) calling Gladstone “exceptional in every regard.” Gladstone will reunite with Liam Coen, a Rams assistant from 2018-20 and their OC in 2022. Although Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham was viewed as the frontrunner, it certainly makes sense Coen would want a former coworker to start fresh with him in Jacksonville.

Gladstone will become the youngest general manager in the league at 34 years old. He was previously a high school coach in St. Louis before being hired by Rams general manager Les Snead. Gladstone has spent the last eight years in Los Angeles including the last four as director of scouting strategy. Gladstone will become a GM four years after former Rams staffer Brad Holmes took over in Detroit. Holmes’ Lions success surely did not hurt Gladstone’s chances, though Coen’s status in Jacksonville probably played a bigger role here.

The Rams consistently hit on their draft picks in Gladstone’s tenure despite trading away most of their first-round picks. He will hope to bring that success to Jacksonville, which had an inconsistent drafting record under Trent Baalke. The Jaguars currently hold the fifth overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, giving Gladstone a chance to add an elite prospect with his first pick as GM.

Snead may look to an internal promotion to replace Gladstone in Los Angeles. Candidates could include director of data and analytics Jake Temme and scouting strategist Nicole Blake, per Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

Gladstone was not considered a frontrunner for the Jaguars’ GM job when the team first requested to interview him, partially because he was not considered for any of the other vacancies this hiring cycle. He impressed team decision-makers enough in his first interview to earn a second, solidifying him as a finalist for the job in Jacksonville. Now, he will team up with Coen in an effort to rebuild the team after a 4-13 showing in 2024.

The Jaguars’ GM vacancy was the last to be filled of this year’s hiring cycle, so Gladstone will have to move quickly to prepare the roster for free agency. Jacksonville currently has just under $40MM in cap space, but could create another $35MM of room by moving on from Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Josh Reynolds. Reynolds made just one catch in 2024 and won’t be worth his $4.26MM cap hit next season. Kirk and Engram both played well in 2022 and 2023, but experienced a downtick in production last year before going down with season-ending injuries. They represent the team’s two biggest cap hits in 2025, so the new regime may prefer to cut ties rather than extend players they didn’t originally sign.

Gladstone beat out a number of veteran executives for the GM role in Jacksonville in what Khan called “a painstaking but energizing interview process.” Below is a full list of their candidates:

Ian Cunningham Jaguars GM Frontrunner?

February 19th, 2025 at 9:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2025 GM carousel has spun for several weeks, but the Jaguars have been doing the only work here for the past few. Nearly a month after firing Trent Baalke during their coaching search, the Jags are winding down their process.

As second interviews have begun, one name has jumped out. Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham looks to have emerged as the frontrunner for this role, with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz going so far as to saw this is his job to lose. In noting the Jaguars hope to have this position filled this weekend, NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe mentions Cunningham as a candidate to watch down the stretch here. This may not be too surprising, as his name surfaced shortly after this job became open. Cunningham’s second interview is likely to take place today, per Schultz.

This is familiar territory for Cunningham, who was the runner-up for the Commanders’ GM job that went to Adam Peters last year. Cunningham also is a two-time finalist for the Titans’ GM post, conducting second interviews with the team in 2023 and ’25. A 2023 report also indicated Ryan Poles‘ top lieutenant turned down the Cardinals’ GM job, one Monti Ossenfort took. Despite the Bears yet to make the playoffs during the Poles-Cunningham regime, the latter is well-regarded around the league.

The Bears did not directly include Cunningham in the search that produced Ben Johnson last month, as Poles mentioned his AGM would have been a part of the search committee had he not been in the running for the Tennessee job. The Titans hired the Chiefs’ Mike Borgonzi to work alongside Brian Callahan (and under football ops president Chad Brinker, effectively).

This Jags post would come with potentially more responsibilities, but Liam Coen is widely viewed as the top power broker in Jacksonville post-Baalke. Coen commanded enough Jags interest that the team fired Baalke after he had led the HC search, and the one-and-done Buccaneers OC is believed to have landed a Johnson-level contract from the AFC South club. Johnson is earning upper-crust coaching money, at $13MM per year. New executive VP Tony Boselli will have a role in the post-Baalke front office as well. While the Hall of Fame tackle is not believed to be above Coen or the GM, he will play a key part here in being set to report to ownership.

If the Bears lose Cunningham, a candidate to watch will be tight end-turned-exec Jeff King. The team’s senior director of player personnel would likely be the man to succeed Cunningham to work with Poles and Johnson, per the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs. A Ryan Pace hire, King has been with the Bears throughout his personnel career, which began in 2015. Via PFR’s General Manager Search Tracker, here is how their process stands now that it is in the finalist stage:

Dolphins Not Expected To Tag Jevon Holland

February 19th, 2025 at 11:07am CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Dolphins are not expected to place the franchise or transition tag on Jevon Holland, according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, setting him up to be one of the top safeties on the free agent market.

The franchise tag for safeties is projected to be $19.6MM, and the transition tag is projected to be $15.6MM, per OverTheCap. The Dolphins are currently projected to be $5.4MM over the 2025 salary cap, so they would have needed to make additional moves to accommodate a tag for Holland by the start of the new league year.

Oftentimes, though, the tag is used as a placeholder to allow extension negotiations to continue, which could lead to a long-term deal with a smaller 2025 cap hit. However, the Dolphins did not make significant progress towards an extension before the 2024 season, indicating that they and Holland remain far apart.

The Dolphins may not be completely out on re-signing Holland, but they seem willing to let him test the market this spring. That’s partially because the team has “a lot of needs elsewhere,” according to Wolfe, though letting Holland walk will certainly add to that list. Jordan Poyer, Miami’s other starting safety in 2024, is also set to hit free agency and may follow his former Bills teammate Micah Hyde into retirement.

After Antoine Winfield Jr. reset the safety market last offseason, Holland will likely be looking for an APY at $18MM or higher. The 2021 second-round pick has a strong pedigree as a three-time captain and defensive playmaker, though he has struggled with injuries and lower ball production over the last two seasons. That may limit his APY to the $16-17MM range of Xavier McKinney and Jessie Bates, especially with several other safeties set to hit free agency.

Holland could receive interest from the Jaguars, per Wolfe, who are looking to add playmakers on defense after hiring Anthony Campanile as defensive coordinator. Jacksonville has plenty of cap space and a clear hole in the secondary that Holland could fill.

Jaguars Sign QB John Wolford

February 17th, 2025 at 8:16pm CST by Ben Levine

It didn’t take long for the new Jaguars regime to start adding to their roster. The team announced today that they’ve signed quarterback John Wolford and wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit. Both players were signed to the active roster, which is a more significant commitment than the standard reserve/futures contracts you see at this time of year.

Wolford has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2018. Following stints with the Jets and in the AAF, the QB seemingly found a home with the Rams, where he spent several years serving as a backup to Jared Goff and later Matthew Stafford.

Wolford ultimately spent four years with the organization, going 2-2 in his four starts. In seven total appearances with the Rams, the QB completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 626 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions. He also added another 87 yards on 16 carries.

The 29-year-old could be part of Jacksonville’s solution behind Trevor Lawrence in 2025. Mac Jones filled in admirably in 2024, but the former first-round pick is set to hit free agency. C.J. Beathard also has an expiring contract, so it could be a new-look QBs room for the Jaguars next year.

A former rugby union player, Rees-Zammit got his NFL start with the Chiefs last offseason. He later caught on with the Jaguars’ practice squad, where he spent the majority of his rookie campaign.

AFC South Notes: Jaguars, Texans, Colts

February 16th, 2025 at 9:20am CST by Ely Allen

As the Jaguars continue to search for a new general manager to pair with first-year head coach Liam Coen, Coen continues to build his first coaching staff around himself in Jacksonville. Most recently, two offensive names have been brought up for minor roles on the offensive staff. While Coen, in his extensive experience coaching quarterbacks, will likely take on a lot of responsibility with molding Trevor Lawrence, as head coach, Coen has other responsibilities, as well, so, he’ll need assistance.

Firstly, the team is hiring Fred Walker as an offensive assistant, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Walker spent the last three years on staff in Las Vegas — two of those years as an offensive assistant before working 2024 as assistant quarterbacks coach. That may not inspire much confidence, considering the state of the position for the Raiders last year, but he did work with Derek Carr in the passer’s last Pro Bowl season in 2022.

Another name the team is looking at to work with Lawrence is James Madison offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dean Kennedy. Kennedy is a young, fast-rising name in the coaching world. He has experience as a graduate assistant with two SEC schools (Mississippi State and Florida) as well as two years as the Gators assistant quarterbacks coach back in 2020-21, when Kyle Trask and Anthony Richardson were in the room.

Following that, Kennedy accepted a role as quarterbacks coach at Holy Cross that turned into his first offensive coordinator role a year later. Last season was his only year with the Dukes, but he led an offense that was 26th in the nation in scoring and beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, 70-50. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Jaguars are interviewing him for an as of yet unreported role.

Here are a couple other coaching updates coming out of the AFC South:

  • The Texans are expected to add a new defensive staffer in Toledo defensive line coach Frank Okam, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Okam will serve as the team’s new assistant defensive line coach behind current defensive line coach Rod Wright, whom he played with in college at the University of Texas. Okam also played with head coach DeMeco Ryans when the two were players for the Texans from 2008-10. After defensive line coaching jobs at Rice and Baylor following his playing career, Okam held defensive line coaching jobs for the Panthers and Raiders before returning to the college ranks for the past two years.
  • Finally, the Colts are reportedly targeting veteran defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson for a role on their staff, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Indianapolis just recently hired Chris Hewitt away from Baltimore as their new pass game coordinator & secondary coach, so it will be interesting to see what role they’d like to carve out for Henderson. Henderson has served as defensive backs coach for the Jets (2008), Browns (2009-11), Cowboys (2012-15), and Giants (2020-24) with additional years as a defensive passing game coordinator for the Falcons (2016-19) and the Giants last year.
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