On MNF in Week 13, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a few of their top offensive players suffer injuries. Starting QB Trevor Lawrence is dealing with a high ankle sprain and his status for Week 14 is unknown. Standout WR Christian Kirk suffered a core muscle injury and fell to the ground without being hit.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Kirk will miss roughly 6-8 weeks. He needs surgery to repair his core muscle, meaning Jacksonville will be losing one of their top receivers. If all goes well, Kirk could be back in time for the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl. The Jaguars would have to make it that far for that to even be a possibility.
Jacksonville’s #1 WR is now Calvin Ridley after Christian Kirk’s injury in Week 13
From @GMFB: #Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (high-ankle sprain) isn’t ruled out for Sunday, but he’ll need to get a lot better very quickly to somehow play… Plus, the latest on teammate WR Christian Kirk (core muscle) and the #Jets QBs. pic.twitter.com/do7o7MbNnB
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 6, 2023
In 12 games played for the Jaguars this season, Christian Kirk was leading the team with (787) receiving yards. He also had the second-most receiving touchdowns (3) and catches (57) for Jacksonville in 2023. Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk built chemistry last season when the WR had a career-high in receiving yards (1,108) and touchdowns (8). Kirk was on pace to have similar numbers, but that is not going to happen.
Without Kirk, the Jaguars will turn to Calvin Ridley as their true WR1. It’s a role that Ridley is more than capable of handling. Jacksonville has a lot of mouths to feed on offense and that’s resulted in fewer targets for Ridley. However, he’s made the most of his opportunities and has been trending upward over the last month. The 28-year-old will see an increased target share over the final five games of the season for the Jaguars.
BREAKING: #Jaguars WR Christian Kirk likely to have surgery and likely to be placed on IR. pic.twitter.com/VKn68lXQZx
— Mikey Ferro (@FerroMikey) December 6, 2023
If Trevor Lawrence does end up missing a few games, Jacksonville’s offense could be in trouble. The former #1 overall pick is a dymanic playmaker and cannot easily be replaced. We’ve seen nearly half the teams in the league this season deal with an injury to their starting QB. Jacksonville is just the latest team it’s happened to. C.J. Beathard will start in Week 14 vs. the Browns if Lawrence is unable to play.
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