The Seattle Seahawks reportedly acquired 29-year-old Irvin Charles from the New York Jets on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, adding a veteran special teams presence to a Super Bowl-winning roster.
Charles spent four seasons with the Jets after going undrafted in 2022 following collegiate stops at Penn State and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The receiver signed with New York as an undrafted free agent, spent the 2022 season on the practice squad and worked his way onto the field in the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
Numbers show why Seattle made the move. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Charles logged seven special teams tackles in 12 games in 2023, then matched that tackle total in 2024 while adding a blocked punt before suffering a torn ACL in Week 14. Across those two seasons he did not record a catch and played just 53 offensive snaps, but he has accumulated 450 special teams snaps in his NFL career.
Charles did not catch a pass in 2023 or 2024, and reports note he did not see any game action with the Jets last season while he recovered from a torn ACL. The trade is a low-cost wager on his ability to contribute on kickoff, punt and coverage units once medically cleared.
Context makes the Seahawks’ calculation clear. Seattle won the Super Bowl and arrives into the coming season stocked at wide receiver with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed and Tory Horton already on the depth chart. That front-line talent reduces any expectation that Charles was acquired to meaningfully change the offense; his value is tied to special teams work.
The tension in the move is health and role. Charles’ résumé with the Jets is defined almost entirely by special teams production, not receiving, and the torn ACL remains the obvious variable. He played through parts of 2024 before the injury in Week 14, then missed game action as he recovered. Seattle now must judge whether he has returned to the speed and durability required for high-effort coverage play.
Practically, Charles is unlikely to see much action on offense unless injuries open a window or games are decided late. Instead, he will be measured by tackles on coverage units, the occasional game-changing play on punt returns or blocks, and his availability week to week. For the Seahawks that is an inexpensive way to reinforce a special teams unit without surrendering significant draft capital.
The trade also underscores how teams value role players who can tilt field position. The Jets, coming off a season tied for the worst record in the NFL at 3-14, parted with a conditional seventh-round pick for a player whose primary NFL contribution has been on special teams. Seattle, fresh off a title, paid that small price for depth and the potential upside of a player experienced in coverage work.
Conclusion: This is a low-risk, role-specific acquisition. The Seahawks added Irvin Charles for a conditional seventh-rounder because he profiles as a special teams player more than an offensive weapon; his ability to influence the roster now hinges on his recovery from the ACL tear and whether he can quickly re-establish himself on coverage units.
