Seahawks’ Rashid Shaheed talks about working with ‘true professional’ Sam Darnold

When Rashid Shahid was traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Seattle Seahawks at the deadline, the Saints were 2-8 and the Seahawks were 6-2. The lightning-quick receiver and return specialist has seen a reversal of fortunes, going from a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since entering the league in 2022 to one that is finally playing for the NFC Championship.

Shahid talked about the trade and whether he felt like he knew right away that he was going to be a Super Bowl contender in a brief interview with Field Gulls during Thursday’s media day event.

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“I have a good idea that this team is going to compete — definitely a playoff team,” Shahid said. “But now since I’ve been here and had the opportunity to see this locker room, I really understand why this team is a Super Bowl team.”

While Shahid has yet to catch a touchdown in a Seahawks uniform, his 51-yard catch-and-run in the NFC Championship Game was one of the reasons why Seattle traded fourth- and fifth-round picks for him. But the chemistry between quarterback and receiver isn’t always immediate, especially when it comes to mid-season trades. Speaking about Shaheed and Sam Darnold, Rasheed praised Sam and how they were able to work together so quickly.

“Sam is a true professional,” Shahid said. “He goes into every game with the right mentality and that’s how I approach games the same way. So it doesn’t take a lot of time to set up timing and everything.

“His skills are very good. He’s obviously played the position well for a long time, so it didn’t take us long.”

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Perhaps one of the biggest moments of Seattle’s season came when Shahid caught back-to-back passes (after a power play return) against the Indianapolis Colts to set up Jason Myers’ game-winning field goal with less than a minute left.

When it comes to chemistry between quarterback and receiver, it’s hard to beat the combination of Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njiba, who lead the league in receiving yards in a low-volume passing attack. The NFL Honors will be held later tonight. JSN is a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year. Will he win? Not a guarantee. Should he win? Shahid did not hesitate to vouch for his teammates.