4 contracts holding the Jacksonville Jaguars back right now

2. Christian Kirk, wide receiver

Scheduled salary for 2024: $24.2 M
Potential cap savings; $2.7 M
Dead cap: $21.5 M

Unlike other players on this list, Christian Kirk is guaranteed to remain in Jacksonville in 2024. For starters, he was their leading receiver in 2022 and the offense suffered a noticeable dip when he suffered a season-ending core injury last year. Simply put, the Jaguars are a much better team when the former Texas A&M Aggie is on the field.

But even if the Jaguars wanted to move on from Kirk, they wouldn't probably be able to do it. He's set to count $24.2 million against the cap next season. On the off chance they released him, he would leave a dead cap hit of $21.5 million with only $2.7 million in savings. However you look at it, it's simply not worth it. But just to be clear, the four-year contract worth $72 million Kirk signed in 2022 isn't bad. The trouble is how it's structured.

If the Jags really wanted to free up space, there are other players they should start with before they consider Kirk. Fellow wide receiver Zay Jones may have a higher chance of being a cap casualty. He's set to make a manageable $10.7 million in 2024 but the Jags could get $4.1 million in space with $6.5 million in dead money if they parted ways with him. The team brass could also free up $3.2 million if they released defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi.

This isn't to say that the Jaguars will cut Jones and/or Fatukasi but rather that there are more realistic cap casualty candidates on the roster than Kirk right now.