The San Francisco 49ers opened the practice window for veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk, who has been on injured reserve since suffering a calf injury during the first practice of training camp. The team now has 21 days to decide whether to activate him to the 53-man roster.
It has been a long road back for Kirk, who spoke to reporters Thursday about his recovery and why he finally feels ready to return to the practice field.
"Just felt like I kind of got over that hump and feeling like myself again," Kirk said. "Body starting to respond to just the training and the recovery and whatnot. And so, just wanted to communicate that to them, and tell them that I was ready to go, and get back out there.
"So, excited to get out there. It's obviously been a while, and just ready to attack this week."
Kirk acknowledged that watching from the sidelines, unable to contribute to the team's success, has been difficult. However, he believes his experience will help him get up to speed quickly and become a productive part of the offense.
"I think it's like riding a bike," Kirk said. "I've been doing it for a while, and so, for me, it's just getting back out there, getting integrated with the guys. Obviously, it's been hard not being out there, but been really cool to watch day in and day out how this team comes to work every single day, and for it to be able to carry over on Sundays.
"I'm just excited, like I said, to get in the mix, and hopefully, provide some other production to help us win some more games."
Christian Kirk eager to prove himself with the 49ers
Kirk didn't expect to start his tenure with a new team on injured reserve.
"Anytime you go to a new organization, a new team, no matter what you've done, you want to prove yourself, and that's just how I felt," Kirk said. "I've just wanted to go out there, obviously, play with these guys. I've been able to get to know them, being in the locker room, hanging out outside the field. But to just be able to get out there and prove to them that I'm worthy to be a teammate and to be able to help win football games here.
"So, for me, it's been hard, but it's all about just how you approach every day and control what you can control. Now, I'm at this point, and already getting back out there, so I'm excited."
Kirk believes he is nearing the end of his recovery process. Returning to practice will let him work through the final steps needed to prepare for game action.
What does Christian Kirk need to work on before returning?
Kirk said he's focused on getting comfortable with the physical demands of practice and adjusting to the speed of the game, including running routes against defenders and processing San Francisco's play calls at full speed.
"I just think it's getting out there, getting covered, separating from guys, and just hearing the play call," Kirk said. "Obviously, the system has a lot of verbiage and whatnot that goes into a play call. So, just getting those full-speed reps.
"It's really just the little things. Other than that, I'm not too worried about anything else that's required to do from our job."
The 49ers will have up to three weeks to evaluate Kirk before deciding whether to activate him from injured reserve. His return would give San Francisco another experienced receiving option as the team continues to deal with injuries.
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