Seattle Seahawks 2012 season Kearse was signed by the
Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted
free agent on April 28, 2012. he made his NFL debut on November 4 and had a six-yard reception against the Minnesota Vikings. He appeared in seven games as a rookie for Seattle in
2012, finishing with three catches for 31 yards and playing on special teams. Kearse underwent
LASIK surgery during the offseason to improve his vision.
2013 season During the
2013 season in a Week 1 game against the
Carolina Panthers, Kearse caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Russell Wilson late in the fourth quarter to lift the Seahawks to a 12–7 score. The score was the first of Kearse's professional career. In a Week 5 game against the
Indianapolis Colts, Kearse had a 28-yard reception for a touchdown, and blocked a punt which resulted in a safety in the 34–28 loss. In Week 10 against the
Atlanta Falcons, he scored a 43-yard touchdown after a trick play when
Marshawn Lynch threw the ball back to Russell Wilson in the 33–10 victory. In 2013, Kearse played 15 games with 346 receiving yards and four touchdowns. In the
NFC Championship on January 19, 2014, against division rival
San Francisco 49ers, Kearse caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilson. The Seahawks eventually won the game 23–17 and advanced to
Super Bowl XLVIII. During the Super Bowl against the
Denver Broncos, Kearse had four catches for 65 yards including a 23-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, breaking four tackles to get into the endzone. The Seahawks won 43–8, giving Kearse and the team their first Super Bowl win in franchise history.
2014 season In the
2014 regular season, Kearse played 15 games with 537 receiving yards and a touchdown. In Week 5, against the Washington Redskins, he caught his lone touchdown of the season in the 27–17 victory. In Week 3, in a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch against the
Denver Broncos, Kearse threw the first pass of his NFL career, a 17-yard pass to Russell Wilson, in the 26–20 overtime victory. In the
Divisional Round against the
Carolina Panthers, Kearse continued his streak of catching touchdowns in postseason games with a 63-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, catching the ball with one hand. He would catch two other passes in the game, each going for 33 yards, and lead all receivers with 129 receiving yards on his three catches. The Seahawks won 31–17 and advanced to the NFC Championship. In the
NFC Championship against the
Green Bay Packers, Kearse caught his only completion, a 35-yard game-winning overtime touchdown to give Seattle a 28–22 win after falling behind 16–0 at halftime. The victory sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Kearse had been targeted on five throws earlier in the game, the first four being intercepted (two of them tipped by Kearse) and the fifth being incomplete. It was the fourth straight postseason game in which Kearse caught a touchdown pass. In the final minute of
Super Bowl XLIX, Kearse caught the ball after a Wilson pass was tipped by cornerback
Malcolm Butler and the ball bounced four times off Kearse's body before he secured the ball. The play seemingly looked to be a remake of the
Helmet Catch. However, Butler intercepted Wilson at the goal line with under 30 seconds remaining, therefore foiling the Seahawks a chance for the second championship in a row as they lost to the Patriots 28–24.
2015 season In the
2015 season, Kearse caught eight passes for 76 yards in the season-opening 34–31 overtime loss in St. Louis against the
Rams, setting a new single-game high for receptions (breaking his previous record of five). In Week 5 in
Cincinnati, Kearse caught his first touchdown of the season on a 30-yard pass from Wilson in the 27–24 loss. In Week 11 against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Kearse recorded four receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns, in the 39–30 victory for his first career multi-touchdown game. In Week 15, against the Cleveland Browns, he had a career-high 110 receiving yards in the 30–13 victory. Kearse started all 16 games for the first time of his career and finished the year with 685 receiving yards and a career-high five touchdowns. In the
Divisional Round against the
Carolina Panthers, Kearse had 11 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns as the Seahawks lost by a score of 31–24.
2016 season In the
2016 season, Kearse caught 41 passes for 511 yards and one touchdown. Seattle won the
NFC West and made the playoffs. His lone touchdown came in Week 16, against the
Arizona Cardinals in the 34–31 defeat on
Christmas Eve. They defeated the
Detroit Lions in the
Wild Card Round before falling to the eventual NFC Champion
Atlanta Falcons in the
Divisional Round.
New York Jets 2017 season On September 1, 2017, Kearse, along with a
2018 second-round draft pick, were traded to the
New York Jets in exchange for defensive tackle
Sheldon Richardson. On September 10, in the season opener, Kearse made his Jets debut, recording seven receptions for 59 yards in the 21–12 loss to the
Buffalo Bills. In Week 2, against the Oakland Raiders, he had four receptions for 64 yards and his first two receiving touchdowns with the Jets, both coming from quarterback
Josh McCown. His performance against the Raiders was only the second multi-touchdown game of his career. During Week 12 against the
Carolina Panthers, Kearse had 7 receptions for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown. He and fellow receiver
Robby Anderson both had over 100 receiving yards in the same game in a Jets lost 35–27. During Week 13 against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Kearse had another outstanding performance, highlighted by a spectacular one-handed catch by the sideline boundary line and a 51-yard reception play later in the game. He finished the game with 9 receptions and 157 receiving yards as the Jets won 38–31. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 65 receptions for 810 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.
2018 season In Week 6, against the
Indianapolis Colts, he had nine receptions for a season-high 94 yards. He had his first receiving touchdown of the season in Week 11 against the
New England Patriots. He finished the 2018 season with 37 receptions for 371 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
Detroit Lions On June 6, 2019, Kearse signed with the
Detroit Lions. On August 8, 2019, Kearse suffered a broken leg early in the first quarter in Week 1 of the preseason against the
New England Patriots. He was placed on injured reserve on August 10, 2019. Kearse announced his retirement on September 29, 2020. ==Career statistics==