Seahawks Open Practice Window for Special Teams Star

The Seahawks have a fairly elementary roster decision in front of them, with Montorie Foster Jr having been a healthy scratch for three games this season as the fifth wide receiver. Despite a fun training camp and preseason, Foster hasn’t been able to impact the game. With Charles’s history of special teams excellence, it’s a simple decision for the team.

The Special Teams Savior

Irv Charles entered the league in 2023, and has yet to catch a pass. And yet, not only is he still in the league, but he’s still a coveted player, as evidenced by the fact that the Seahawks traded for him. That’s how good he is on special teams. He may even be the best special teams specialist in the league. Of course, that was a couple years ago, so we need to see it again.

Charles had a 90.3 special teams grade in 2023 and then an 88.6 grade in 2024 from Pro Football Focus. Both would place him among the highest graded special teamers in the sport. And he did a lot of ST work, providing snaps on kickoff returns and coverage, as well as punt returns and coverage. He can single-handedly turn a play in his team’s favor.

A Needle Mover

The Seahawks won the super bowl last season in large part because they had a massive special teams advantage in every game they played. Think about the playoffs. They ended the divisional round game against the 49ers in 13 seconds because of special teams. They flipped an evenly-fought game against the Rams the next week because of special teams.

The fact that they’ve been forgettable there so far this year is a significant problem. And a single expert gunner could make all the difference. If Charles can stay healthy (he missed all of 2025) and get back to 2024 form, I think this should get way better over the next couple months.