Irvin DeVonta Charles (born April 13, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver and gunner for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and IUP Crimson Hawks. He previously played for the New York Jets.
Early life Charles grew up in Sicklerville, New Jersey, located about 23 miles away from Philadelphia. He and his father were Jets fans growing up, and Charles cites Brandon Marshall as an inspiration, wearing his number 15 while playing football at Paul VI High School. He was rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com.
College career Charles saw sporadic playing time for the Penn State Nittany Lions over the course of two seasons; he played primarily on special teams. He was kicked off the team for violating team rules prior to the team's game in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. He transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a graduate transfer after finishing his degree at Penn State. He returned to football in 2021 and saw playing time at wide receiver, recording 39 catches for 792 yards along with 12 touchdowns.
College statistics Season Team GP Receiving Tackles Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Cmb Solo Ast 2016 Penn State 13 2 106 53.0 80 1 5 5 0 2017 Penn State 11 1 4 4.0 4 0 7 5 2 2021 Indiana (PA) 9 39 792 20.3 85 12 3 2 1 Career 33 42 902 21.5 85 13 15 12 3
Professional career
New York Jets On May 6, 2022, the New York Jets signed Charles to a three-year, $2.565 million contract as an undrafted free agent. On August 29, he was waived by the Jets. Two days later, Charles was re-signed to the team's practice squad.
On January 7, 2023, the Jets signed Charles to their active roster on a one-year, $705,000 contract. He made the team's final roster entering the regular season. Charles was waived on September 16 and was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on October 11. Charles appeared in 12 games for the 2023 Jets, recording seven total tackles on special teams and receiving one target as a receiver with no catches.
Charles made the Jets’ roster for the 2024 season. He made two special teams tackles and blocked a punt from Ryan Stonehouse in a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans in the second game of the season. In Week 14, Charles sustained a season-ending ACL injury in the team's loss against the Miami Dolphins.
On March 28, 2025, Charles signed an exclusive rights tender with the Jets.
Seattle Seahawks On May 27, 2026, Charles was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2028 conditional seventh-round pick. He was placed on injured reserve on August 30.
References
External links
New York Jets bio IUP Crimson Hawks bio Penn State Nittany Lions bio