The Seattle Seahawks acquiring Rashid Shaheed at the 2025 NFL trade deadline was an underrated move that helped them win Super Bowl LX.
The move also appears to have paid off for Shaheed, who's set to be an unrestricted free agent come March.
The 27-year-old Shaheed provided an additional deep threat on offense and was a special teams star for the Seahawks, returning three kicks for scores, including one in their Divisional Round victory over the 49ers. Now, he's hoping to cash in on the market.
But would Shaheed consider rejoining the Seahawks? He told Senior National Columnist Judy Battista and NFL Network's Bridget Condon on Wednesday's upcoming episode of The Insiders (airing at 7 p.m. ET) that a return to Seattle absolutely remains on the table.
"Absolutely, absolutely, yeah," Shaheed said. "Conversations are definitely going to be heating up towards March. But you know, I would love to come back. I loved my experience here, I'm loving the Pacific Northwest, and obviously the organization is second to none.
"I kind of want to run it back. We just won the Super Bowl, so, you know, why not?"
The Seahawks appear to have the money to keep Shaheed, too, if they want. There also are expected to be multiple teams vying for his services if he reaches free agency, especially with some of the top free-agent receivers potentially being hit with the franchise tag.
Fresh off the Super Bowl title, Shaheed said his first priority is being with a team with a chance to win.
"The goal for me is just to continue to win," he said. "Now that I've got a taste of a Super Bowl championship, I'm gonna continue to work towards that each and every year, man.
"I'm a competitor, I love the game of football, I'm willing to do whatever for my teammates and my team. Yeah, I just love the game and I'm willing to do what it takes."
But there are other factors. Shaheed didn't join the Seahawks until November, and he took a lesser offensive role than he previously had with the Saints, playing fewer snaps and seeing fewer targets. Shaheed was averaging career bests in receptions per game (4.9) and receiving yards per game (55.4) before the trade.
In nine regular-season games (four starts) with the Seahawks, Shaheed caught 15 passes for 188 yards with seven rushes for 64 yards. In three playoff games, he had seven touches for 100 more yards on offense.
With the Saints, Shaheed was their No. 2 receiver. There might be more opportunities with other teams where he's not fighting for targets with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, among others. Shaheed admitted on Wednesday that he'd love to have the ball in his hands more but that he's still going to have fun no matter what.
"Of course. Any opportunity I get to make some plays for my teammates, I'm gonna go out there and just enjoy it," Shaheed said. "As long as the ball, if it comes to me or if it doesn't, I'm out there having a blast. Any impact I get an opportunity with -- whether it's offense, special teams -- it doesn't matter. As long as I'm out there, I'm gonna be having a blast."
Now we wait to find out if the fun will continue in Seattle or if Shaheed will seek greener pastures elsewhere in free agency.
