The Seattle Seahawks lost several key contributors to their Super Bowl-winning campaign on the first day of the free-agency tampering period. They did, however, retain one of their playmakers, locking up Rashid Shaheed for the long run.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider gave Rashid Shaheed a three-year, $51 million contract to stay in Seattle. Keeping him in town was clearly a priority, but that $17 million yearly salary was somewhat eye-popping.
Spotrac projected Shaheed to go for three years and $42 million, and even though that nine-million difference might not be a lot over three years, he's going to have to do plenty of heavy lifting to justify his salary.
The Seattle Seahawks must hold Rashid Shaheed to a different standard now
The Seahawks gave up a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2026 fifth-round pick to get Shaheed midway through the season. It looked like a huge acquisition at the time, given his familiarity with then-offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and his production (44 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns in nine games).
Then, he wasn't much of a factor in Seattle. He hauled in 15 receptions for 188 yards and no scores. Of course, he had a big 51-yard reception in the NFC Championship Game and returned a kick for a touchdown in the playoffs, but other than that, he wasn't much more than a decoy.
That was fine for a mid-season acquisition with special teams responsibilities, but that's not going to cut it anymore. He's making big bucks, and his production will have to match what he's getting with every paycheck.
He may just need more reps with Sam Darnold, and perhaps new OC Brian Fleury wants the passing game to be less dependent on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Whatever the case, he has to step up.
With Kubiak taking the Las Vegas Raiders job, chances are that the Seahawks just had to overpay to keep Shaheed. They valued him enough to outbid the team that made the most sense for him, given his knowledge of Kubiak's offense.
That said, the San Francisco 49ers agreed to terms with Mike Evans for $14.2 million a year, and Wan'Dale Robinson went for just $500K more than Shaheed. He was more expensive than the projected deals for the likes of Deebo Samuel, Romeo Doubs, Tyreek Hill, and every wide receiver not named Jauan Jennings.
The Seahawks are paying him $3 million for every reception he made last season. And even with Smith-Njigba still at the forefront of the offensive game plan, those numbers will have to look much better at the end of the year for the fans to feel well about this move.