The Seattle Seahawks are perched atop the NFC West with a 6-2 record. They swung a deal before the 2025 NFL trade deadline to bolster their chances of winning the division.
Coming to the Seahawks will be former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Seattle sent New Orleans fourth- and fifth-round draft picks to acquire the 27-year-old veteran, who is expected to be a free agent following the 2025 NFL season.
Shaheed has recorded 44 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns through nine games thus far this season. The veteran is known for his downfield speed and should be able to quickly acclimate to a Seattle offense he is already familiar with.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers of the Shaheed trade and how it will impact the Seahawks.
Winners of Rashid Shaheed trade
Seattle Seahawks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been a revelation for the Seahawks this season, posting a league-high 948 receiving yards through nine weeks to go with 58 receptions. All other Seattle wide-outs have combined for 42 receptions and 582 yards, highlighting the team’s need for a more dynamic complement to JSN.
Shaheed should fit the bill, as his deep speed will help open up space for Smith-Njigba to operate. It will also take attention away from Cooper Kupp, who has primarily operated out of the slot in his first season with the Seahawks, and allow him to be a consistent, shorter-yardage safety valve for Sam Darnold.
Add in the flashes rookie Tory Horton has shown and the Seahawks are suddenly four-deep at receiver with a nice mix of upside and experience. That should help them as they prepare for a playoff run in 2025.
Rashid Shaheed
Shaheed is also a big winner of this trade. As mentioned, he fits like a glove into Seattle’s receiver room and will also get a quarterback upgrade, going from Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler to Darnold.
Better yet, Shaheed won’t have much of a learning curve as he joins the team. Seattle’s offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, operated in that same role with the Saints in 2024. Shaheed was on pace for one of the best seasons of his career under Kubiak’s leadership, recording 20 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns across six games before suffering a torn meniscus.
As such, this may have been Shaheed’s most ideal landing spot. The 27-year-old will have a chance to continue to improve his stock as he prepares to hit free agency during the offseason.
New Orleans Saints
It’s finally happening. The Saints are embracing their long-needed rebuild after a 1-8 start to the season, and got a solid price of fourth- and fifth-round picks in exchange for Shaheed. That will increase New Orleans’ buying power in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Shaheed’s departure will also give them a chance to take an extended look at Devaughn Vele, who New Orleans acquired in a preseason trade with the Denver Broncos.
Losers of Rashid Shaheed trade
Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers
The NFC West is one of the tightest divisional races in the NFL. The 49ers, Rams and Seahawks all have six wins, so this figures to be a down-to-the-wire battle to earn a home playoff game.
The Seahawks got better with the Shaheed trade, which will make life a little more difficult for the 49ers and Rams in that divisional race. It may not be an earth-shattering move, but it addressed one of Seattle’s lone weaknesses and could be enough to swing the pendulum slightly in the Seahawks’ favor.
All WR-needy contenders who failed to land Rashid Shaheed
Plenty of potential playoff teams entered the trade deadline in need of depth at receiver. The Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers were just a few teams that could have used a No. 2 wide-out of Shaheed’s ilk to give them a better chance in the postseason.
Instead, that trio of teams will have to focus on other potential trade targets or the free-agent market if they want to add depth at receiver. The latter has been chiefly picked dry, so this could turn into a missed opportunity for receiver-needy squads.
Tyler Shough
The Saints are planning to let Shough start the second half of the season to see if he can establish himself as their quarterback of the future.
It was going to be hard enough for Shough to do that with Shaheed. Without him, the Louisville product will have to rely largely on Chris Olave to carry the team’s group of pass catchers. That will make it easy for opposing defenses to hone in on the Ohio State product and make Shough’s life difficult.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rashid Shaheed trade winners and losers from Seahawks, Saints deal
