Kearse was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and later won Super Bowl XLVIII with the team.

[18] 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.

[19] 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.

[20] 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.

[22] In the NFC Championship on January 19, 2014, against division rival San Francisco 49ers, Kearse caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilson.

[28] 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.

[30][31] 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).

[33] 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.

[35] 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.

[36] 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.

[40][41] 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.

[42] 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.

[43] 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.

[45] 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.

[52] 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.