The New York Jets are retaining one of their most productive special teamers.
According to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, Irvin Charles has signed his exclusive rights tender with the Jets, which New York extended to Charles on March 7. This means he will remain with the team on a one-year contract for the league minimum salary of $1.03 million, which includes no guaranteed money.
Over the past two seasons, Charles has arguably been the Jets’ most productive special teamer while playing a minimal role on offense, logging just two total targets in that span. Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh once described Charles as an “absolute wolf” on special teams.
Charles, 27, was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He spent his rookie year on the practice squad before making the Jets’ 53-man roster in his second season.
Charles appeared in 12 games during the 2023 season, logging 236 special teams snaps and earning a team-high special teams grade of 90.3 from Pro Football Focus. He recorded seven tackles.
During the 2024 season, Charles appeared in 13 games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear during the Jets’ Week 14 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins. According to Pro Football Focus, the former undrafted free agent recorded a team-high 88.6 special teams grade, ranking eighth-best in the NFL among special teamers (min. 200 special teams snaps).
Along with seven tackles, Charles had a blocked punt in Tennessee that helped propel New York to a Week 2 victory.
While the New Jersey native certainly has shown signs of promise, there are still some areas he must clean up before solidifying himself as a top special teams ace in the NFL—particularly unnecessary penalties.
In 2024, Charles posted three penalties, all of which could have been avoidable. Each penalty cost the Jets 15 yards, including unnecessary roughness in Week 3, kick catch interference in Week 4, and roughing the kicker in Week 9.
As Chris Banjo takes over as the Jets’ special teams coordinator, he inherits a productive special teamer who must eliminate costly mistakes to secure a roster spot.
