Irvin Charles initially seemed thrilled to be leaving the New York Jets following his trade to the Seattle Seahawks. The seldom-used wide receiver and special teams standout reacted to the news on social media, responding to an Instagram post about the move with the words: 'outta there.'
Fan Reactions
While the 29-year-old may have been thrilled to join the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks, Jets fans were understandably miffed. 'Alright man,' one wrote on X, 'Irv Charles can enjoy being an August cut in Seattle instead.' The same account also described the trade of Charles for a conditional seventh-round draft pick as 'addition by subtraction.' 'What's the condition,' another commenter asked facetiously.
Charles' Response
Charles did not delete his controversial post but did offer a more sensitive follow-up message. As he wrote on Instagram: 'forever thankful. for the time spent. memories made. opportunities given. love my guys. always n forever.'
Injury and Career Background
Charles suffered a season-ending knee injury in late 2024 that kept him off the field in 2025. Because of that, he never played under second-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, which may have made him expendable. A Camden, New Jersey native, Charles attended Penn State before being kicked off the team for a rules violation before the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. He then transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he returned to football and later earned a training-camp invite with the Jets in 2022.
Special Teams Excellence
Although he has no catches and has only been targeted twice on offense in his career, Charles has excelled on special teams, where he's earned the reputation as one of the better gunners in football. 'Didn't have an Irv Charles trade on my bingo card, but [Jets GM Darren Mougey] has proven he can make trades from the top of the roster to the [bottom],' ESPN's Rich Cimini wrote on X. 'Interesting thing here is that Charles, a terrific gunner when healthy, goes to another outstanding special teams unit in Seattle — best in the NFL, per ESPN analytics.'
