The Seahawks’ Super Bowl run was fueled in part by the in-season trade that brought receiver Rashid Shaheed from New Orleans. While Shaheed’s contributions to the offense were modest, his punt return for a touchdown sparked a 16-point comeback in a Thursday night win over the Rams that became critical to securing the No. 1 seed.
For his first full season in Seattle, Shaheed has had the benefit of participating in the offseason program. He has fully embraced it.
“Rashid, he deserves a lot of credit,” coach Mike Macdonald told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s been here the whole time. He’s had a great attitude. He’s had a lot of personal records in our offseason training program. The timing of our plays look like it should, given the amount of reps that are invested into it. I know I’m as excited as heck to see where it goes.”
In nine regular-season games with the Seahawks, Shaheed was targeted only 26 times. He caught 15 passes for 188 yards and seven touchdowns. He added 64 rushing yards on seven carries, 14 kick returns for 418 yards and a touchdown (29.86 yards per return), and 13 punt returns for 210 yards and a touchdown (16.15 yards per return).
In three playoff games, he had three catches for 78 yards, four carries for 22 yards, four kickoff returns for 167 yards and a touchdown (41.8 yards per return), and two punt returns for 16 yards (8.0 yards per return).
During the offseason, the Seahawks signed him to a three-year, $51 million deal, paying him $17 million per year.
As receivers go, it’s less than half of the top of the current market, set by teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($42.15 million). As potential impact goes, Shaheed can do many things for the Seahawks.
Even when he’s not the target of a throw, his speed stretches a defense, making it easier for the other receivers to get open (and opening running lanes for the tailbacks). His ability to run past everyone must be respected. And he can dramatically change field position in the return game, along with providing the constant threat to turn a routine play into a long touchdown.
Last year, he had to find a way to make an impact while changing teams midstream. That’s never easy for a receiver. This year, he’s fully ensconced in everything the team does.
Bottom line? That $17 million annual investment could quickly look like a bargain for the Seahawks — and other teams could be kicking themselves for not being more aggressive about trying to pry him free from Seattle when they had the chance.
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