Jaguars WR Christian Kirk activated off of injured reserve, will be game-time decision

Christian Kirk is closer to returning to the gridiron after the Jacksonville Jaguars announced Saturday afternoon that they've activated the veteran receiver off of the team's reserve/injured list, onto the active 53-man roster.

In a corresponding move, the Jaguars placed WR/return specialist Jamal Agnew on IR after the wideout suffered a fracture in his lower left leg in Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers.

Kirk is officially listed as questionable to play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. He is considered a game-time decision as the Jaguars team doctors, head coach Doug Pederson, and Kirk weigh the pros and cons of his return.

Making a mark: Jaguars look to secure back-to-back AFC South title vs. Tennessee Titans

Kirk returned to the practice field this week after spending the previous four weeks on IR with a core muscle injury. Kirk said Wednesday that he tore his left ab off the bone, injured on his first target and reception against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.

Kirk also indicated he suffered a tear on the right side of his abdominal muscle since Week 6 that had to be fixed.

Miraculously, though, the veteran wideout was moving and running around just three-and-a-half weeks after surgery.

"Honestly, the fact that I'm standing here in front of you guys today in cleats, being able to go out onto the practice field is still kind of surreal to me. I've been working tirelessly every single day," Kirk said Wednesday.

"I've been in here sometimes the last person to leave just doing everything that I can to get back as fast as I can because I want to be available, I want to help bring this team where we all wanna go."

Jacksonville's game against Tennessee is a must-win and will decide whether or not the Jaguars win the AFC South. For that reason, Kirk's activation presents a quandary, weighing the risk of putting him out there too early versus putting all of your best players on the field in a must-win game.

"This game is a game that you’ve got to have, you want everybody available if possible. At the same time, you never want to jeopardize a player’s future or career with further injury," Pederson said this week.

"I just want to make sure he’s in a good place. We take them by case-by-case, they’re individual. But in his case, because he’s blocking and running downfield, being hit, there’s more to it than Trevor’s [QB Trevor Lawrence] case. But he’s doing nice, he’s progressing well.”

Inactives are set to be revealed 90 minutes before kickoff for the 1 p.m. ET contest on Sunday. It's then that we will know the status of both Kirk and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

If Kirk is active, and Zay Jones returns as expected, it will be the first time the Jaguars have had their full arsenal of receivers since Week 13 and will mark only the seventh time that season that the trio of Kirk, Jones and Calvin Ridley were all available on game day.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Christian Kirk activated off injured reserve ahead of Titans game