When Rashid Shaheed was traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Seattle Seahawks at the deadline, the Saints were 2-8 and the Seahawks were 6-2. Fortunes flipped for the lightning-quick receiver and return specialist, going from a team that had never made the playoffs since he entered the league in 2022 to playing for the eventual NFC champions.
In a short interview with Field Gulls at Thursday’s media day availability, Shaheed talked about the trade and whether he felt like he knew right away he was
going to a Super Bowl contender.
“I had a good idea that this team was going to be in competition—definitely a playoff team,” Shaheed said. “But now since I’ve been here and got a chance to be around this locker room, I can really see why this team is a Super Bowl team.”
While Shaheed doesn’t have a receiving touchdown in a Seahawks uniform yet, his 51-yard catch-and-run in the NFC Championship Game was one of the reasons Seattle traded a fourth- and fifth-round pick for his services. But quarterback-receiver chemistry isn’t always instant, particularly when it’s a midseason trade. In terms of Shaheed and Sam Darnold, Rashid praised Sam and how quickly they’ve been able to be in sync with each other.
“Sam is a true professional,” Shaheed said. “He approaches every game with the right mindset, and that’s how I come in with the same approach. So it didn’t take much time to build the timing and everything.
“He’s very good with his craft. He’s obviously played the position very well for a great amount of time, so we didn’t take long at all.”
Perhaps one of the biggest moments of Seattle’s season was Shaheed catching consecutive passes (following a big kick return) against the Indianapolis Colts, setting up Jason Myers’ game-winning field goal with under a minute remaining.
Speaking of QB-WR chemistry, it’s hard to beat the combination of Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the league in receiving yards while playing in a low-volume passing offense. With NFL Honors coming later this evening. JSN is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year. Will he win it? Not a guarantee. Should he win it? Shaheed didn’t hesitate to vouch for his teammate.
“He should win it, he absolutely should win it. Just give the man the trophy. He’s earned it, he’s proved that he’s the best—he’s the heartbeat of this team and we wouldn’t be here without him.”
We’ll have a little more from this interview on Friday.
