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New Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed chats with special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh ahead of his first practice in Renton, Wash. on November 5, 2025. Shaheed was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday. (Stephanie Schroeder / FOX 13 Seattle)
RENTON, Wash. - New Seahawks receiver Rashid Shaheed may have only arrived in Seattle on Tuesday night, but he's already planning to be with the Seahawks for a long while.
"I’m here to stay, man. We can figure something out after the season ends," Shaheed said.
The Seahawks acquired Shaheed in a trade with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday ahead of the league's trade deadline. Seattle sent fourth- and fifth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft to New Orleans to bolster their receiving corps for the second half of the season.
"Really excited. He got in the building this morning, so we're off and running," head coach Mike Macdonald said.
Shaheed, 27, has 44 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns this season for the Saints. A dynamic, speedy receiver, Shaheed was in the last year of his contract with New Orleans, which pays $4.2 million this season. Seattle will be responsible for half that amount for the rest of the year.
That also makes Shaheed an unrestricted free agent after the season. However, Shaheed was enthusiastic about joining the Seahawks and said he intends to be with the team beyond this season.
"Long-term, yes sir," Shaheed said.
Seattle has accomplished similar feats in recent years, signing defensive end Leonard Williams and linebacker Ernest Jones IV to new contracts with the team after acquiring them in midseason trades in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
It likely helps that Shaheed also knows what to expect from the new offense he's joining in Seattle. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was Shaheed's coach with the Saints last season. Shaheed had 20 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns last year in just six games before being lost for the year to a meniscus injury.
"Super glad to be connected back with him," Shaheed said. "He's familiar with me. He knows my strengths, and I know what his mindset is going into games. And you know, shouldn't be too hard to get acclimated with him, just find my role in the offense."
Shaheed said his first glance at the playbook showed it was very similar to the one he knew from last year in New Orleans, though he will need to refresh his terminology and learn the specific game plan adjustment as well.
Knowing what the offense tries to accomplish, Shaheed said he's not surprised by how productive Seattle has been this season.
"When he was with us in New Orleans, it was super explosive. A lot of big plays and he just brought the same momentum here," Shaheed said. "I just hope it goes smooth, and it's been fun to watch."
When the trade was first reported, the initial wonder was whether the hamstring injury sustained by Cooper Kupp last week in practice was more significant than initially believed. However, Macdonald said that the addition of Shaheed wasn't out of necessity, but out of a desire to add to what they already had.
"It's a great opportunity to add to our team," Macdonald said. "Didn't feel like we were missing something. It was not like we're trying to, like, plug holes or anything like that. It was just an opportunity to get a great player and to augment what we're doing. So that was it. Yeah, excited about it, and excited to see him, see him out there."
In fact, Macdonald said Kupp was expected to be involved somewhat in Wednesday's practice, though he was officially listed as not participating. Regardless, it seems the injury isn't thought to be a long-term concern.
Shaheed's ability as a deep threat with his speed adds one more dangerous option to a passing attack that has already been one of the league's most explosive units this season.
"I feel like there's a lot of wide-open opportunities (in the offense)," Shaheed said. "I would get into a lot of play action and stuff like that, so I could stretch the field vertically. I feel like I could bring that into this offense. Any type of explosiveness, I'm all here for it."
Additionally, Shaheed can help Seattle with their kickoff and punt return games as well. Shaheed was named as a Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro with the Saints as a punt returner.
"He’ll be a part of our return game, yeah," Macdonald said. "Working through it, it's fair to say return game for right now. Tory (Horton) is still going to be our returner, but we'll train him at punt returner."
Shaheed was still getting his bearing with his new team on Wednesday, but was looking forward to what's next.
"Excited about the journey, excited to be here, excited to be a part of this organization, and so far it’s been nothing but welcoming," he said.
Roster Moves:
The Seahawks waived safety Jerrick Reed II to clear a spot for Shaheed on their roster on Tuesday. Seattle likely hoped to get Reed back on their practice squad, but were unable to get the chance. The Tennessee Titans claimed Reed off waivers on Wednesday, so they'll be a bit lighter with their safety depth.
Maxen Hook is now the only extra safety on the practice squad for depth, as Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, Ty Okada and D'Anthony Bell are all on the 53-man roster.
Seattle did make a practice squad addition on Wednesday, signing wide receiver Mac Delena.
Dalena, an undrafted rookie out of Fresno State, initially signed with Kansas City this spring, then was waived prior to the start of the season. Dalena was a first-team All-Mountain West selection as a senior, leading the team with 64 catches for 1,065 yards and eight touchdowns.
Injury Report:
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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