Rashid Shaheed could very well be a half-season rental for the Seattle Seahawks as they go for the team’s first playoff appearance since 2022.
Shaheed was acquired in a trade with New Orleans on Tuesday for two draft picks. The fourth-year receiver is well on his way to a career year in the final season of his contract.
The 27-year-old Shaheed would like for his success to lead to a new deal with the 6-2 Seahawks at the end of this year.
“I’m here to stay,” Shaheed said Wednesday. “So, I’m excited to see if we can figure something out after the season ends. But, yeah, I’m excited.”
First up for Shaheed is Sunday’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. He had 44 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns with the Saints this season, as well as a combined 158 return yards on punts and kickoffs.
“It’s a great opportunity to add to our team,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Didn’t feel like we were missing something. Not like we were trying to plug holes or anything like that. Just an opportunity to get a great player and augment what we were doing.”
Shaheed hails from a family of track athletes, including his parents and both sisters.
“I was just kind of born to run,” Shaheed said. “It’s a big part of my game, and I try to focus on that as much as possible.”
For Seattle’s offense, which has racked up the ninth-most passing yards in the league and features the NFL’s leading receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the hope is for Shaheed to provide quarterback Sam Darnold with another downfield threat.
Cooper Kupp, the Seahawks’ second-leading receiver, did not practice Wednesday. If Kupp’s injury turns out to be serious, the burden would only increase for Smith-Njigba.
As such, Shaheed is eager to help out. He has already heard about Smith-Njigba from former Saints teammate Chris Olave, who played with him at Ohio State.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Shaheed said. “I’m excited to team up with him. He’s had a great year so far, a great career. I’m just excited to be able to share the same field, as well as the rest of his offense to come together, and win some games.”
Shaheed doesn’t think his transition to the Seahawks’ offense will be terribly difficult. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak served in the same capacity with the Saints last year, which was his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator.
Shaheed said the Seahawks’ playbook is “pretty much the same” as the one the Saints used last season, and that he anticipates quickly picking up the playbook’s verbiage.
“I’m super glad to be connected back with (Kubiak),” Shaheed said. “He’s familiar with me. He knows my strengths, and I know what his mindset is going into games. It shouldn’t be too hard to get acclimated with him and just find my role in the offense.”
It remains to be seen what role Shaheed will assume. That’s nothing new for Shaheed, though, who went undrafted after a five-year collegiate career at FCS Weber State. He has long relished opportunities to put his head down and keep working hard, and in turn be an example for others of how any player can make it out from anywhere.
Unlike in New Orleans, where Shaheed had to claw for a roster spot, he arrives in Seattle as a proven commodity. It’s a new setup altogether, but one that Shaheed is quite appreciative of — and hopes will become his long-term home.
“Just excited about the journey, excited to be here and excited to be a part of this organization,” Shaheed said. “So far, it’s been nothing but welcoming and just feeling good right now.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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