Seahawks get receiver Rashid Shaheed from Saints at NFL trade deadline

With just over three hours to go before the NFL trade deadline Tuesday, the Seahawks are reportedly adding to their receiver room, acquiring veteran Rashid Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints, according to multiple reports.

Shaheed, 27, played last season with the Saints for Klint Kubiak, now the offensive coordinator in Seattle, and is entering the final season of a contract that voids after this year.

The 6-foot, 180-pounder has 44 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns this season.

The Saints are receiving a fourth- and fifth-round pick in 2026 for Shaheed, per reports.

The Seahawks entered the day holding each of their own picks in the first through six rounds. It traded the seventh-rounder last year to Cleveland for center Nick Harris.

The move not only bolsters a Seattle receiving corps that has been hit by injuries the past few weeks but also adds even that much more potential firepower to an offense that has been one of the surprises of the NFL season as Seattle has gotten off to a 6-2 start.

Veteran Cooper Kupp missed Sunday’s 38-14 win over Washington with heel and hamstring issues, while Jake Bobo also sat out with an Achilles injury and Dareke Young a hip injury.

That had the Seahawks down to just for receivers active for Sunday’s game, including two off the practice squad in Cody White and rookie Ricky White III.

Let by first-year QB Sam Darnold, who has thrown 16 touchdown passes, the Seahawks are fifth in the NFL in scoring (28.9 per game) and fourth in passing yards at 2,041, thanks in large part to the fast start of third-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the league with 948.

Now Seattle adds the speedy Shaheed to the mix.

Shaheed, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2022, has been a standout returner in his career, returning punts for touchdowns in the 2023 and 2024 seasons and earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2023 as a punt returner.

The Saints are 1-8 under first-year coach Kellen Moore and were known to be having conversations with teams about Shaheed since he can be a free agent following the season.

Shaheed is making a base salary of $4.2 million this season with a cap hit of $4.45 million. The Seahawks entered the day with $20.7 million in cap space.

A report from SI.com said the Seahawks and Shaheed do not have a new contract in place as part of the deal meaning the two sides will have to work on one after the season or Shaheed can hit free agency in March.

The Seahawks were thought all along interested in Shaheed if they were to add a receiver because in large part to his connection with Kubiak.

Shaheed was off to a career year in 2024 while working with Kubiak before suffering a knee injury that ended his season after six games.

Shaheed had 20 receptions for 349 yards (a career-high 17.5 avg.) and three touchdowns as well six carries for 29 yards playing under Kubiak before his injury.

Shaheed had four receptions for 42 yards and one punt return for 40 yards for the Saints at Lumen Field in the Seahawks’ 44-13 win over New Orleans on Sept. 21.

He has 10 punt returns for 129 yards this season and one kickoff return for 29.

Shaheed turned in his best game this season with 114 yards on four receptions against the Giants in Week 5.

What the Seahawks feel makes Shaheed a good fit is that he can line up all over the field. According to Pro Football Focus he has lined up wide 246 times this season with 180 in the slot.

In 2024 under Kubiak he played more outside, with 241 snaps out wide to 70 in the slot.

The Seahawks’ receiving corps has been led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has 948 yards, on pace to become the first to break the 2,000-yard mark in NFL history.

Kupp is next with 24 receptions for 293 yards, while rookie Tory Horton has 13 for 161 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, two coming against Washington Sunday.

The addition of Shaheed could make for an interesting offseason for the receiving corps. Smith-Njigba will be eligible for an extension and if he continues on his pace could command a contract on par with the top in the NFL, possibly in the $30 million a year range.

Kupp signed a three-year deal in March that is worth up to $45 million, including $17.5 million fully guaranteed. But there is no guaranteed money in Kupp’s deal beyond this season. However, $9 million will become guaranteed if he is on the roster on Feb. 10, according to OvertheCap.com.

Shaheed played football and ran track at Mt. Carmel High in San Diego before spending five years at Weber State.

He played in 52 games at Weber State with 88 kickoff returns for 2,560 yards, a 29.1-yard average, with seven TDs and also had 40 career punt returns for 575 yards (10.8) while also catching 146 passes for 2,164 yards (14.8 avg.) with 18 touchdowns and getting 30 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

This story will be updated.

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