The New Orleans Saints have one of the NFL’s most dangerous return men on their roster, and it sounds like they intend to use him in that role — even as his star ascends as an offensive player.
Though Rashid Shaheed may not be pulling full triple duty this season — starting at receiver while also serving as the primary punt and kick returner — Saints special teams coordinator Phil Galiano still expects to have Shaheed at his disposal this season.
“We all want to get our best players to have the ball in their hands, because they have a chance to score,” Galiano said. “So, strategically, whether it’s offense or special teams, how can we get the ball in Shid’s hands? Because he’s one of our better playmakers.”
Shaheed has blossomed as a receiver the last few seasons, but he made his name in the return game.
He earned Pro Bowl and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2023 as a return man, averaging 13.6 yards per return on punts. He was even better last year, averaging 15.9 yards per punt return. He’s the only NFL player with a punt return touchdown each of the last two seasons.
And returning punts is probably where he will spend the most time on special teams: New Orleans has used Kendre Miller and Velus Jones as its kick returners in training camp.
“We have some other guys that I think can score when they touch the ball as well, so we’re able to be selective and maybe Shid is not every kick return, maybe it’s certain situations that we may want to use him,” Galiano said.
There is always injury risk to consider in the return game, perhaps especially for Shaheed, who was limited to six games last season before a knee injury ended his campaign. But Galiano said he’s not one that buys into “the injury fear.”
“You either have a helmet and you’re playing on game day, or you’re not,” Galiano said.
“Our players are competitors, too, so if a player says I know I can do this and help our team win, and I say to him, ‘You’re not going to do that because I’m scared you’re going to get hurt,’ that doesn’t send the right message.”