After one of the more impressive primetime victories in Seattle Seahawks history, the football world has been buzzing about Seattle as a contender. With the championship window potentially opening earlier
than most thought, it made Tuesday’s trade deadline fascinating.
Despite numerous rumors of players coming or going, the Seahawks only made one move, acquiring wide receiver Rashid Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints.
It was a wild day of some pretty crazy trades, while a ton of players expected to move stayed put. Here are my top three takeaways from the trade deadline as the Seahawks look to make a run in the second half of the season.
Rashid Shaheed is a great get
From the moment Klint Kubiak was hired as the Seahawks offensive coordinator, Shaheed was a target for John Schneider and this offense.
Undrafted out of Weber State, the 6ft (more like 5-10) 180lbs wide receiver has made a name for himself as a special teams star, and had a potentially breakout season last year in New Orleans, under Kubiak, before injuries kept him to only six games in 2024. In those six games, Shaheed had 20 receptions for 349 yards and three scores. The 17.5 yards per reception would’ve ranked second among qualified receivers in 2024.
In 2025, Rashid is healthy, but on arguably the worst team in the NFL. He already has 44 receptions, but for only 499 yards and a score. That 6.2 Y/R drop is massive, and it’s clear the Kellen Moore offense with Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough has taken away what makes him special. Enter the Kubiak reunion.
In Seattle, the offense is rolling, and now Shaheed joins the best offense and team he has ever played on. With JSN terrifying defenses, and Sam Darnold looking like an MVP frontrunner, Shaheed brings an element that may make this offense look like the Greatest Show on Turf from the St. Louis Rams days.
On a more recent trade deadline transaction, this move reminds me of the 2019 49ers acquiring Emmanuel Sanders at the deadline. San Francisco gave up three mid-round picks to get the Super Bowl champion from Denver. While Shaheed does not have the resume that Sanders had, they were very similar players who could stretch the field. Sanders gave Jimmy Garoppolo a needed explosive threat besides Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
There are striking similarities (with some notable differences) between the 2019 49ers squad and this Seahawks team, and I believe that Shaheed could be yet another spark plug for one of the most efficient and explosive offenses in the league.
No linebacker trade tells us something about the Ernest Jones injury
As I wrote about in my weekly Four Down Territory article, the Ernest Jones injury left one concerning mark on the Sunday night thrashing by Seattle. If he were to miss an extended period of time, the defense could really take a step back without its quarterback.
After some vague news about the severity of the injury, I thought for sure Schneider would add a depth piece at the deadline. Instead, silence. On Wednesday, we got encouraging news as Ernest Jones was a limited participant in their walk-through practice. This is massive and positive news, when it was believed Jones would miss a couple of games.
I still believe that the best course of action is for Jones to sit out the Arizona game. You’re at home and while the Cardinals have been feisty, the following game at Los Angeles could be a season defining opportunity. I want Jones and Cooper Kupp, two former Rams with revenge on their minds, ready to roll for LA.
Big picture, Macdonald and Schneider feeling good about the health of Ernest may be the biggest move at the deadline.
No ‘Big Game Hunting’ is okay, for now
Unless you were detached from the Seahawks universe in the days leading up to the deadline, there were some massive rumors of the Seahawks going all in on certain superstar players. When trading, it takes two to tango. I think John believed in this roster, and was ready to swing for the fences, but the opposing side wasn’t quite ready, unlike the Jets.
That doesn’t mean that the Seahawks can’t make a championship run this season. I think to most Seattle fans, this season feels like they are a year ahead of their “rebuild”. Would it have been cool to see them go get a Maxx Crosby? Absolutely, it is hard to know when your window is open, but it’s even harder to know when it will close. There is also a path of staying the course and seeing what this year, and upcoming offseason bring.
I am ok with the Shaheed move, and seeing what happens in a wide open NFC this year. I also believe that a Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham type of all in move is around the corner for this franchise, as Schneider has a history and hunger to do when he feels his team is close. We’re about to find out how close this team is in the second half of the season.
