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Brady Henderson
RENTON, Wash. — When the Seattle Seahawks acquired wide receiver Rashid Shaheed in a trade with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, they gave up a pair of middle-round picks for a player who’s in the final year of his deal.
But they didn’t do so with the thought that he was going to be around for merely half a season.
Shaheed isn’t thinking that either.
«I’m here to stay,» he said Wednesday during his introductory news conference at Seahawks headquarters, repeating the line when asked about his expiring contract and the possibility of becoming a free agent in March. «I’m excited, and we can figure something out after the season ends.»
Shaheed, 27, had stepped foot inside the Virginia Mason Athletic Center for the first time only a few hours earlier when he said he views this as a «long-term» arrangement. But an extension will have to wait.
The Seahawks, who parted with fourth- and fifth-round picks in the swap, have a long-standing policy of not extending trade acquisitions right away. They prefer to wait until the season ends to begin negotiating — so long as the player has no more than one year left on his contract by that point — which is how they ultimately worked out long-term deals for trade pickups such as Jamal Adams, Leonard Williams and Ernest Jones IV, to name some recent examples.
That means Shaheed will likely have to play out the remainder of the two-year, $6.185 million contract he signed with the Saints in 2024, with his agent and the Seahawks then trying to work out a deal before he reaches free agency.
In the meantime, the Seahawks are hoping he can reinforce their banged-up receiver corps and give their already-potent passing game another weapon for Sam Darnold to go along with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL with 948 receiving yards.
«This guy can really help us,» coach Mike Macdonald said, «and it’s our job now to make sure it comes to life.»
Macdonald downplayed the degree to which the Seahawks needed Shaheed, saying they weren’t trying to plug a hole and instead describing the move as «just an opportunity to get a great player and to augment what we were doing.»
But Shaheed, who reunites with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, gives them a few things they could use. One is a healthy body, as Cooper Kupp (hamstring/heel) and reserve wideouts Jake Bobo (calf) and Dareke Young (hip) are dealing with injuries that kept them out of the Seahawks’ win over the Washington Commanders last Sunday night. All were listed as nonparticipants on the team’s practice report Wednesday, which was an estimation as Seattle held a walk-through.
Shaheed also gives the Seahawks one of the league’s top deep threats, someone who has proved he can stretch the field over his 3½ seasons in the NFL. Signed by New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2022, Shaheed ranks third in air yards per target (13.63) and ninth in yards per reception (14.9) over his career. He has six career touchdowns of at least 50 yards, and all but two of his 12 scores were from at least 30 yards out.
«He’s a playmaker,» Macdonald said. «The speed’s real.»
The Seahawks hope that speed can open things up for their run game, which has managed only 3.7 yards per carry — second worst in the NFL — as defenses have constantly loaded the box. Shaheed saw that happen early last season in New Orleans while playing opposite another speedy receiver in Chris Olave, before Shaheed suffered a season-ending meniscus tear in October, one of several injuries that decimated the Saints’ offense.
«I feel like that’s why we had so much success going on early on in last season,» he said. «Just the ability to for me and Chris to stretch the field vertically, it opened up and so many different things. That was kind of the name of our game on offense last year.»
Macdonald said Shaheed will be part of the Seahawks’ return game. It sounds like it’ll be as one of their kickoff returners, as Macdonald said rookie receiver Tory Horton will still return punts. Shaheed made the Pro Bowl after the 2023 season as a returner and was a first-team All-Pro as a punt returner that year.
Shaheed called it a «bittersweet feeling» to be traded and said he tried to ignore the speculation that had been mounting in recent weeks that he could be dealt.
«There was a lot of stuff circulating, but I had to stay focused on what I had in front of me,» he said. «But now that it’s here, I feel like I’m ready for it, and everything is going to be a smooth transition.»
That transition will be aided by his familiarity with Kubiak’s offense. Shaheed said that from what he has gathered so far, it’s «pretty much the same» as what Kubiak was running last season as the Saints’ OC, save for some tweaks here and there.
«I’m super glad to be connected back with him,» 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.»
