Jaguars WR Christian Kirk returns to practice

After being held out as a precaution since joint practices with Tampa Bay, Jacksonville wide receiver Christian Kirk has returned to the practice field after nursing a mild calf injury.

Kirk was held out for the remaining practices against the Buccaneers and sat out of preparation ahead of the Jaguars’ final preseason win against Atlanta, after experiencing the injury on Aug. 13.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson left a minor update on Kirk on Monday as he took the practice field.

“We can continue to get better,” Pederson said Monday. “We haven’t seen all the pieces… it’ll be good offensively to get Christian back and get him back into the offense.”

Kirk saw his 2023 campaign cut short due to a core muscle injury, yet accumulated 57 receptions for a team-leading 787 yards before getting hurt, adding three touchdowns in 13 games.

On July 29, Kirk spoke to media members about his health and how he feels going into his seventh season in the NFL.

“As long as my approach is consistent and it’s the same every day and I feel like I’m putting my best foot forward, then I have no problem if something happens while I’m out there because I know I did all I could do,” Kirk said.

“But I definitely want to stay healthy this year. I feel great, I feel strong, I feel fast. Not in pain anymore. I’m really just excited because my body hasn’t felt this good in a long time, so I’m just really looking forward to building throughout training camp.”