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Christian Kirk feels sense of urgency, has ‘bite’ entering Jacksonville Jaguars season
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- Christian Kirk feels sense of urgency, has ‘bite’ entering Jacksonville Jaguars season
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk knows training camp comes with its hills and valleys. But the seventh-year receiver is looking to find the "happy medium" as he enters his third season in Doug Pederson's system .
Kirk spoke with media members after the fifth day of camp from the Miller Electric Center and explained some of the early struggles by Jacksonville's offense.
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"I think it's just finding that happy medium of making mistakes and learning from them," he said. "But also having a sense of urgency of getting better, competing, and taking that next step as an offense."
Kirk finds himself in a new role this season as the senior-most receiver on the team. With newcomers Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. , it's taken Jacksonville's offense some time to gel in the early days of camp .
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) on the field on the fifth day of the NFL football training camp practice session Monday, July 29, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla..
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It's forced the team to search out active communication channels between not only players, but coaches as well.
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On Monday, Kirk and offensive coordinator Press Taylor spent several minutes talking with each other during the special teams portion of practice.
According to Kirk, Taylor is open to suggestions and feedback with most of the conversations being based around how they can evolve the offense.
"You don't want to wait until Week 1 to try something new that you've never done," Kirk said. "There's a lot of different wrinkles that we're kind of trying out to see what we like, what we don't like. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But like I said, now's the time to do that.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (0) greets wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) on the field during the fifth day of the NFL football training camp practice session Monday, July 29, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla..
"So, it's been good to kind of communicate with him, really brainstorm. He's open to just hearing from us and kind of different things that maybe we want to try or what we've seen other teams do."
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Kirk's season was cut short last year due to a core muscle injury suffered in December. He spent the start of his offseason rehabbing but is fully healed from the injury now.
The injury created a "sense of urgency" for him as he approaches the season. He had to watch from the sidelines as the team lost five of the last six games down the stretch and missed the playoffs last year.
"I feel like I'm a little bit more—not on the edge, but I've got a little bit more of a bite to me this year just with my sense of urgency within practice of just not only pushing myself, but everybody else around me," he said. "Basically saying, we can't wait. We can't wait for the opportunity to come to us. We've got to go take it."
Kirk's relationship with Trevor Lawrence should set tone for rest of the receiver room
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) is all smiles as he runs off the field with teammates running back James Robinson (25) and quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) after Kirk's first quarter touchdown. The Jaguars went into the first half with a 17 to 0 lead over the Colts. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank field in Jacksonville, FL Sunday, September 18, 2022. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
The Jaguars hit the reset button on their receiver room this offseason, bringing in new faces while losing some of the old ones. Zay Jones was cut by the team and Calvin Ridley left in free agency while Jamal Agnew was not re-signed by the franchise.
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Davis and Thomas are joined by Devin Duvernay as newcomers in the receiver room in addition to several players jockeying for end of roster spots with the team.
Kirk is the only starting receiver who's returning and will be leaned on by quarterback Trevor Lawrence as a safety blanket this year. While Lawrence and the other receivers are working on timing and other nuances, Kirk's relationship with the quarterback is not only established, but fortified.
"Me and him, we don't really have to think too much about what we do," Kirk said of Lawrence. "If there is a miss, it's something that isn't so drastic to where you have to go back and really have an extensive discussion about it or if we're not on the same page."
While Jacksonville's offense has struggled to get out of neutral to start camp, Kirk has been steady in the first week of practices. It's a continuation of the bond between him and Lawrence that's flourished for both players.
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Kirk recorded career numbers in in catches (84), receiving yards (1,108) and touchdowns (8) during his first season playing with Lawrence. If Kirk can return to his previous form, it should be expected to see similar numbers from him this season.
"It's just pretty seamless where we've been on the same page for a while now," Kirk continued. "We're just looking forward to kind of being the tone setters, and when you need a play, it's on us to be able to connect and light a spark."
Pederson says defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton has returned to pre-injury form
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton (52) practices against defensive end Jeremiah Ledbetter (99) during an organized team activity Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
One of the major stories from last year was the back injury that kept defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton sidelined for a large chunk of the season.
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Hamilton developed a spinal abscess during preseason last year and was sidelined until Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers .
Even after his original debut, he still played sparingly and was a week-to-week coach's decision . But through the first week of camp Hamilton has seemed back to normal.
"He's healthy, he's strong. He's doing some really good things out there," Pederson said on Monday. "He's coming off the ball. I mean, yeah, it's good to see him back to where he was pre-back injury."
Hamilton was drafted out of Ohio State in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After mainly playing a reserve role for the first few years of his career, he broke out in 2022.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton (52) on the field during the fourth day of the NFL football training camp practice session Saturday, July 27, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hamilton started 14 games while recording 56 total tackles, six quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks. The high-level play led to a contract extension last summer that'll keep him with the team until 2026.
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But all of that was before the injury that sidelined him for more than half the season and saw him record career lows in every category.
"He's a stout player. He's a big player in there and that was a piece that was really missed because now you're having to do it with maybe two other guys and with him, he can play all three downs for you if you need to," Pederson said while reflecting. "That was a big, big loss."
Fully healthy and cleared now, Hamilton is projecting to be a starter on Jacksonville's defensive line in new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's system.
Juston Lewis is a Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on the website formerly known as Twitter at @JustonLewis_ .
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Kirk on Trevor Lawrence: 'We don't have to think too much'
