The Seattle Seahawks elevated Irv Charles and Jimmy Ciarlo from the practice squad ahead of their Week 6 road matchup against the Denver Broncos, giving the roster two short-term fixes before a trip that had already been complicated by injuries and special teams concerns.
Charles, who was acquired from the New York Jets in May, missed the first five games with a knee issue before Seattle designated him to return to practice on October 7. He is expected to be a key part of the kick and punt return work, which makes his elevation more than a placeholder move for a team that had been looking for help in that area.
The timing around Charles showed how quickly Seattle’s plans changed. The Seahawks activated him to the active roster on Tuesday, then released him a day later to make room for running back Velus Jones Jr. That sequence left Charles back on the practice squad, but it also made clear that the club was juggling immediate game-day needs rather than building toward a long look at one player.
Ciarlo’s promotion filled a different hole. Signed on September 30, the former Army linebacker went undrafted in 2024 and missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. Seattle needed the depth after losing starting linebacker Drake Thomas to an ankle injury and Chazz Surratt to a chest injury, even as safeties Julian Love, Ty Okada and Nick Emmanwori were healthy.
The moves also came after Seattle restored its full 17-man practice squad with the signing of A.J. Finley, which gave the team enough flexibility to keep shuffling bodies without losing depth. For Charles, the chance is still there to suit up for the first time since arriving from the Jets. For Seattle, the question now is how much of the Broncos game those two elevations will actually cover.
