Grading the signing: Seahawks rob NFL of one of free agency’s most electric playmakers after losing key Super Bowl contributors
Rashid Shaheed is locked in.
The Seattle Seahawks were having a pretty rough Day 1 of free agency, especially when including major moves by NFC West rivals in the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
That changed on Monday afternoon, however, after they scored a huge win by signing electric wideout Rashid Shaheed to a three-year, $51 million deal.
The Seahawks previously lost Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, starting safety Cobe Bryant, and upcoming EDGE Boye Mafe, but Shaheed’s deal will help ease the sting of those losses for obvious reasons we’re about to dive into.
Rashid Shaheed is one of the NFL’s most electric playmakers
Shaheed didn’t do a whole lot numbers-wise in the receiving department after he joined the Seahawks, but there are several layers to why the situation played out the way it did.
For starters, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the clear-cut No. 1 receiver that Sam Darnold will target any logical chance he gets. Then, there’s the fact the Seahawks a) run a lot of 12 personnel b) ran the ball a ton in 2025 and c) had Cooper Kupp as the No. 2 receiver.
Those elements really limited Shaheed’s opportunities to produce in the passing game and that’s evidenced by his 26 total targets over nine regular season games in Seattle.
But even though he had limited opportunities, Shaheed showed he can make plays downfield on a consistent basis: Per Pro Football Focus, he caught three of five targets consisting of 20+ air yards during his nine games with the Seahawks, posting an overall receiving grade of 92.4, which was second behind only JSN.
He excels in the return game, as well, which is such a unique and effective advantage for teams. The Seahawks are clearly betting on the fact the flashes they saw last year will continue to grow now that he’s going into a full offseason (plus the previous time) with the franchise, which should help his development.
Shaheed’s deal also ranks 29th in terms of AAV among all wideouts at the time of this publication, which is super reasonable when considering today’s receiver market.
With JSN dominating coverage and Kupp working the underneath passing game, there should be plenty of room for Shaheed to make some major in plays in 2026 and beyond and it’s clear that’s what the Seahawks are betting on. Overall, the Seahawks clearly prioritized Shaheed and they kept one of the most dangerous playmakers out of the hands of the NFL.
As the top dog in the “hunted” category, that’s a major win.
Final Grade: B+
