Houston Texans Land Dynamic Wide Receiver In Trade With Jaguars

The Houston Texans went into the offseason with a huge need at wide receiver. While Nico Collins is the clear WR1 in the offense, the rest of the crew is questionable. Tank Dell underwent ACL surgery this week and is likely out for the 2025 season. Stefon Diggs and Robert Woods are free agents, with the former coming off of his own ACL injury. The front office made a big swing before free agency, acquiring wide receiver Christian Kirk from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Houston Texans Get WR Christian Kirk In Trade

Earlier this week, the Jaguars made it clear they would be releasing Christian Kirk. His salary cap hit was too high, and the team needs the money to fill other roster holes. Teams never want to release players outright as they get nothing in return, but it is sometimes necessary. Plans apparently changed, as the Houston Texans wanted to make sure Kirk did not hit free agency. Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team is reporting that Houston is sending a 2026 seventh-round pick to Jacksonville for the receiver.

This immediately fills a need for the Houston Texans. Kirk has dealt with injuries in the past few years, but when he is on the field, he is very productive. During his three years with the Jaguars, he caught 168 passes for 2,274 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also produced good numbers during his four years with the Arizona Cardinals.

Beneficial For Both Sides

This is a trade that seems beneficial for both sides. The Jaguars get some type of compensation back on a player they were going to release anyway. While a seventh-round pick isn’t likely to become the next All-Pro, acquiring more picks can help get more talent or move up a couple of spots to get the player a team wants.

The wide receiver room for the Houston Texans looks much better than it did 24 hours ago. Collins and Kirk form a good duo, and CJ Stroud will be able to spread the ball around to plenty of targets. Furthermore, if they don’t extend Kirk, they are not committed to him long-term. Instead of risking a four-year contract on a player with an injury history, they can get him on a one-year prove-it deal. If it doesn’t work out, they only gave up a seventh-round pick.

Final Thoughts

The league’s new year doesn’t begin until March 12, so none of this is official until then. However, we have already seen many teams active in making sure their rosters are ready to compete in 2025. Was this a smart move for the Texans?