The Houston Texans have won the AFC South in consecutive seasons and appeared in the AFC Divisional Round in both years. However, they haven’t been able to get over the hump just yet, as they’ve fallen short of their first AFC Championship Game appearance both times.
With a young core built around quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., the Texans have a roster capable of competing with the AFC’s elite. This offseason, their approach will have to focus on filling in the cracks and adding depth to a roster that was plagued by injuries in 2024.
Consider those boxes checked, at least where the receiver room is concerned. In a stunning trade with a division rival, the Texans have added yet another explosive option for Stroud to target in 2025.
Texans Land Christian Kirk in Bargain Trade With Jaguars
Last season, each of the Texans’ top three receivers — Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Stefon Diggs — missed huge chunks of the campaign, including season-ending injuries to Dell and Diggs that sidelined the duo for the playoffs.
Though the team anticipates that Diggs should be healthy around the start of the 2025 season, they received an update on Dell that may keep the third-year receiver out until at least December.
With solid depth options in John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson, the team needed to find a slot receiver to complement Collins as long as Dell is out. In a trade with the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (as first broken by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini), the Texans have found their new WR3 in Christian Kirk.
🚨Trade🚨
The Houston Texans are finalizing a trade to acquire Jaguars WR Christian Kirk, per sources. pic.twitter.com/yWNpI5j5KY— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 6, 2025
Kirk, who was widely expected to be released before the start of free agency on March 10, is a seven-year veteran with a 1,000-yard receiving season on his résumé. Due to his contract status (one year, $16.5 million remaining) and potential release, the Texans only had to surrender a future seventh-round pick to get the deal done.
After a strong debut for the Jaguars in 2022 (84-1,108-8), Kirk has been on the field for just 20 games over the past two seasons, amassing 84 catches for 1,166 yards and four touchdowns in the process.
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Health concerns aside, he saw his yards per route run decline by 16.8% last season from the career-best rate he posted in 2023. That seemed to be the result of a spike in depth of target (+28%), an odd move given that his catch rate on balls thrown 10+ yards downfield trended in the wrong direction during his time in Duval County.
Unlike his stint in Jacksonville, Fla., where Kirk was tasked with being Trevor Lawrence’s No. 1 option in the passing game, Houston should offer the Texas A&M product plenty of opportunities to produce with far less defensive attention being shifted his way.
Kirk will be 28 at the start of the season and carries with him a specific set of skills from the slot that make him a good fit for offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s scheme.
The trade will become official at the start of the 2025 league year on March 12.