Christian Kirk Details Struggles With Cardinals

Former Arizona Cardinals WR Christian Kirk said he was going through it mentally in the desert.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) takes to the field before an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-3. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA

ARIZONA -- It's been years since Christian Kirk has suited up for the Arizona Cardinals - though his struggles with the organization still remain with the current Jacksonville Jaguars receiver to this day.

Kirk - a hometown kid - was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Kirk saw highs and lows of his tenure in the desert before eventually inking a four-year, $72 million contract with Jacksonville in the 2022 offseason.

Kirk's payday was met with massive criticism from Cardinals and Jaguars fans alike despite the receiver having an 1,110-yard outing in 2022 to pair with eight touchdowns on his new squad.

Now, ahead of his seventh season in the league, Kirk sat down with Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD.com to discuss some of the struggles he previously endured.

The Cardinals - if you need your memory jogged - weren't good. Or close to it during Kirk's beginning tenure with Arizona.

"It was hard. We were a bad football team," Kirk told Dunne. "I was going through a lot mentally."

Between bad health and a case of the drops that couldn't seem to escape him, fans at State Farm Stadium let Kirk hear it on the sideline and social media.

Kirk said he couldn't blame them.

“I’d be pissed off, too,” he said.

“I had bad drops. But all of it was mental. I was thinking too much. I felt the external pressure.”

The Cardinals brought in a slew of names to help bolster their receiving corps throughout Kirk's tenure. More weapons are always welcome in the NFL, though Arizona got to a point where they didn't necessarily believe in Kirk after initially joining with so much promise.

“I was mad!” Kirk said of his situation with the Cardinals. “I was mad about the way things were going and mad that I had let it even get to that point."

Ahead of his final season in Arizona, Kirk wiped the slate clean and captured motivation that saw him produce his best season with the Cardinals to the tune of 77 receptions, 982 yards and five touchdowns.

“I started to have this mentality that ‘I’m going to be undeniable,’” Kirk said on his final season with the Cardinals.

“They can’t deny me of anything that I’m doing because I’m producing. That season, I took the reins. I took every opportunity I had.”

Kirk's time isn't exactly viewed in golden light here in the desert - though he's far from hated within the Cardinals' fan base. It's clear the receiver wanted things to work desperately out here, though the opportunity to seize a life-changing contract couldn't be passed up.

Kirk said the narrative around him changed, at least until he received his contract from Jacksonville, which prompted hate from practically all corners of the earth.

“Who are you to tell me what I’m worth? And what I’ve been through? And what I’ve worked for? That’s not for you to decide," said Kirk.

The former Cardinals wideout is still looking to mold himself into the person he is today. Though his tenure in Arizona didn't pan out, his time wearing a Cardinals uniform was still an important step on his path to success.

"I would play angry. And I try to channel the doubt, channel everything that has kind of gotten you to this point and recreate that fire and just go out there and play with it. Because it’s a pretty powerful thing. And I think it shuts off the thinking part," Kirk said.