Seahawks trade for Jets wide receiver, special teams ace
Published 9:30 am Wednesday, May 27, 2026
The Jets are trading wide receiver and special teams ace Irv Charles to the Seattle Seahawks for a conditional 2028 seventh-round pick, a league source told The Athletic.
Charles developed into the Jets’ best gunner on special teams in 2023 and 2024 before tearing his ACL late in the 2024 season — an injury that also cost him all of 2025. Former Jets coach Robert Saleh once described Charles as “an absolute wolf” for his skills as a special teamer, which included seven tackles in 2023 and a blocked punt against the Titans in 2024.
The 6-foot-4, 219-pound wide receiver had an uphill climb to making the Jets’ roster in 2026 after some additions at the position the last two offseasons, including 2025 fourth-round pick Arian Smith, who stood out as a gunner during his rookie season. The Jets also traded for Adonai Mitchell last season, drafted Omar Cooper Jr. in the first round this offseason and recently signed free agent Tim Patrick to a one-year, $2 million deal. Add in Garrett Wilson, and the Jets likely have five receivers locked into spots on the 53-man roster.
Trades like these are often conditional on the player making the 53-man roster, and Charles faces long odds to do so in Seattle. The Seahawks’ top five receivers — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton and Jake Bobo — are locked in, and that doesn’t include Cody White, who made the initial 53 last fall, or two recent draft picks in rookie sixth-rounder Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and 2025 seventh-rounder Ricky White III. However, difference-makers on special teams always have a place. The third phase is clearly Charles’ best path to sticking around, whether on the roster or the practice squad.
