Christian Kirk
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The news has been bad for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Christian Kirk in his first season with the team.
After missing his team’s first six games, Kirk is headed to injured reserve after registering zero catches in his only game action — a Week 7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons— before he hurt his meniscus at Thursday’s practice.
“Another player added to IR: 49ers placed WR Christian Kirk on injured reserve,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on Saturday. “Kirk injured his meniscus during Thursday’s practice.”
“49ers activated Demarcus Robinson, placed Christian Kirk on IR, elevated KhaDarel Hodge,” NFL reporter Aaron Wilson wrote on his official X account.
“Christian Kirk is likely out for the season,” 49ers With Josh wrote on X. “Time to make a move, John Lynch!”
The 49ers are 6-1 headed into Sunday’s Week 9 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Injury Issues Started With Kirk in Training Camp
The 49ers were just days into training camp when the first injury issues popped up with Kirk — issues that cost him training camp, preseason, and the first six games of the season.
“As far as injuries, backup left tackle Vederian Lowe limped off the field and didn’t return while WR Christian Kirk walked off with a trainer midway through the session,” The Athletic’s Matt Barrows wrote on X on July 26. “We’ll see how well-versed acting head coach Chris Foerster is on injury reporting in a moment.”
Kirk signed a 1-year, $3 million contract with the 49ers on March 18. He has approximately $80.4 million in career earnings through the end of the 2025 season.
Christian Kirk Landed Massive Payday With Jags
The Jacksonville Jaguars wildly overpaid for Kirk before the 2022 season with a 4-year, $72 million contract. With all of the guaranteed money paid out, keeping Kirk on the roster in 2025 would have cost Jacksonville a whopping $16.2 million.
That’s not money the rebuilding Jaguars could afford to pay a player who only had 27 receptions for 379 yards and 1 touchdown in 2024 after he missed 9 games with a broken collarbone suffered against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8.
Instead, they unloaded him on the Houston Texans in a trade in March 2025 for a 2026 7th-round pick, and Kirk voided the final 4 years of his contract in exchange for a $14.5 million signing bonus.
He wasn’t any better with the Texans, putting up just 28 receptions for 239 yards and 1 touchdown.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and the entire NFC East Division. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame