The Seattle Seahawks acquired Irvin Charles from the New York Jets on Wednesday, sending a conditional 2028 draft pick to New York in return. Charles, a 29-year-old wide receiver and special teamer, gives Seattle another player with a clear role on kicking units.
Charles spent the past four seasons with the Jets after going undrafted in 2022 and signing there as an undrafted free agent. He spent his first season on the practice squad, then got on the field in 2023 and 2024, when he was used mostly on special teams. In 12 games in 2023, Charles made seven special teams tackles. He matched that total in 2024 and also had one blocked punt before tearing his ACL in Week 14.
He did not catch a pass over those two seasons and logged just 53 offensive snaps, compared with 450 special teams snaps, a split that explains why Seattle moved for him. The Seahawks already have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed and Tory Horton at wide receiver, so Charles is not expected to see much action on offense unless injuries hit or games get out of hand. His value is more likely to show up on special teams, where Seattle could use the kind of work he provided in New York.
The trade comes after a season in which the Jets tied for the worst record in the NFL at 3-14, while the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. Charles did not appear in a game last season while recovering from the knee injury, so Seattle is buying upside as much as production. That makes the next step straightforward: the Seahawks will see whether he can return to the form that made him useful in coverage and on punt teams before the ACL tear changed his season.
