Shaheed signed a three-year deal this offseason, but why did he decide to stay in the NFC West?
This offseason, Rashid Shaheed had an important decision to make: stay with the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks or explore free agency and look for a big payday.
The speedy receiver/special teams ace chose to remain with the Seahawks, signing a three-year, $51 million deal to be part of Mike Macdonald's team for the next few seasons.
Now seen as WR2 behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Shaheed will be tasked with easing the workload in the passing game, as last season it was JSN and no one else.
Having had a great offseason to date, getting work as a receiver and reportedly excelling on short and intermediate routes, Shaheed's speed is going to be a concern for opposing defenses, as he can be a home run on any given play.
But back to his contract. What made him decide that Seattle was the place for him for the next three years?
Well, on Seattle Sports' Wyman and Bob, he detailed why he chose to stay.
"I just felt like I fit the culture so well." Shaheed said. "Everybody here just works so hard and they're so determined each and every day to improve and get better. As a player, that's all you want to do each and every day is come into a building where everybody's excited for work, excited to practice and keep our head down and grind towards our one goal and mission and that was to win a Super Bowl. And that's what we did.
"Obviously winning Super Bowl, it intrigued me to come back even more, but just fitting in with this culture, is second to none. So, I wanted to be a part of it for a long time."
The Super Bowl ring would have been a big carrot, and with Seattle retaining many of the players who helped win the Lombardi Trophy, the thought of doing it again is naturally a big source of motivation.
Having previously shown in his career that he can be a dependable receiver, not just a special-teams ace, Shaheed will need to prove it again in 2026.
Sam Darnold will have JSN, but after his All-Pro year, I imagine defenses will do their best to take him away each week, so someone has to step up and be productive.
Shaheed is a Seahawk for the foreseeable future, and he'll be wanting to be part of the team's next success, which many hope will come in 2026.
