Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk, who had been mentioned as one of the top wide receivers available to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wide receiver trade market, is now expected to miss the rest of the season with a broken collarbone.
Kirk was injured in the Jaguars’ 30-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, a game that dropped Jacksonville to 2-6 on the season, which should have heightened the availability of some Jaguars players in the trade market.
But Kirk left the game in the second half of the game against the Packers, and was quickly ruled out for the game by the Jaguars.
The 27-year-old has one season left on his contract with the Jaguars beyond this year.
Kirk represents another player that the Steelers will miss out on in the trade market. The club notably tried and failed to land San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk before the season. Aiyuk has since suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The Steelers were also involved in talks to land Las Vegas Raiders star Davante Adams, but he was instead traded to the New York Jets last week. The Steelers also missed out on Tennessee Titans veteran DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers were considered the favorites to land Cooper Kupp, but his performance in a Los Angeles Rams upset victory on Thursday seems to have him off the market.
Now with Christian Kirk out, the options are dwindling. The top remaining trade targets for the Steelers appear to be Jets deep threat Mike Williams and 34-year-old Carolina Panthers veteran Adam Thielen, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Jakobi Meyers of the Raiders and Darius Slayton of the New York Giants are other potential fits, though their availability in the trade market cannot be confirmed.
