Game Changers: How Rashid Shaheed Transformed the Seahawks

The Seahawks’ acquisition of Rashid Shaheed ahead of November’s trade deadline has turned into one of the best midseason moves in recent NFL history. Needing reinforcements for a banged-up receiver room, Seattle general manager John Schneider sent the Saints fourth- and fifth-round picks in this year’s draft for the 2023 All-Pro return specialist. And Shaheed, who signed with New Orleans in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Weber State, has delivered in a massive way. He was named to his second Pro Bowl as a returner in 2025, delivering electrifying moments on both offense and special teams to help the Seahawks reach Super Bowl LX, where they’ll face the Patriots on Sunday. “It was a great move initially,” coach Mike Macdonald said last month of acquiring Shaheed. “But from my perspective and the coaches’ perspective, he’s a player that we really respect.” Here are three ways Shaheed has transformed the Seahawks: 1. Scoring punch on special teams This is where Shaheed has made the biggest impact, giving the Seahawks one of the NFL’s most feared special teams units. In 11 games with Seattle, including the playoffs, the two-time Pro Bowler has three return touchdowns. The first came in Week 14 in Atlanta, where he returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards in a Seahawks win over the Falcons. Two weeks later, Shaheed had a 58-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter of an overtime win over the Rams. Then in the divisional round against the Niners, he returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, sending Lumen Field into a frenzy and setting the tone for a dominant playoff victory over a division rival. “When he’s catching the ball in kickoff return,” Macdonald said after the game, “[opponents are] like, ‘Oh, here we go, we’ve got to contain this guy.’” 2. Stretching the field on offense The threat of Shaheed downfield can make it more difficult for opposing defenses to cover the Seahawks’ other pass-catchers, most notably Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was the NFL’s leading receiver in 2025 (1,793 yards). Shaheed averaged 15.1 yards of depth on his routes and ran a vertical route at a 50.9% rate with Seattle in the regular season, according to Next Gen Stats. He averaged 12.5 yards per reception with the team in the regular season, up from 11.3 with the Saints in his first nine games of the year. His 51-yard reception on the Seahawks’ opening drive in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams set up a touchdown for running back Kenneth Walker III. From Week 10 (when he joined the Seahawks) through the end of the regular season, Shaheed recorded the third-highest playtime percentage among the team’s wide receivers, trailing only Smith-Njigba (80.0%) and Cooper Kupp (77.0%). The former Saint had 15 receptions for 188 yards in nine games with Seattle in the regular season. He also had seven carries for 64 yards, including three first downs, in those appearances. “He can run every single route, and his speed is dangerous,” Smith-Njigba said in December. “So teams have got to respect that, especially if you’ve got eyes on me or whoever.” [RELATED: 3 Keys to Victory for the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX] 3. Speed, speed, speed A track star in high school, Shaheed is one of the NFL’s fastest players. His speed has made a talented Seahawks team even more dynamic on offense and special teams. According to Next Gen Stats, he averaged 15.16 miles per hour on his routes with the Seahawks in 2025, which would be the fourth-fastest in the NFL across the regular season among receivers who ran at least 250 routes. Ahead of the NFC Championship Game, he’d averaged 17.53 mph across his 16 kick returns since joining Seattle (including postseason), the fourth-fastest mark among the 47 players with at least 10 returns in that span, per NGS.