The unofficial beginning of free agency has been a mixed bag for Seattle Seahawks fans, but some excellent news came with the re-signing of wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. He could have left a gaping hole in two facets of the game had he left, but now he is a long-term impact player for the next three seasons.
Shaheed, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, agreed to terms with Seattle that will pay him $51 million over three years. $34.7 million of that is guaranteed, and one might wonder when the full contract details are announced, how much of that guaranteed money comes in years two or three.
General manager John Schneider likes to structure contracts that are first-year heavy but without much guaranteed money afterwards. It's a move that has worked out plenty for the Seahawks and kept the team out of cap space awfulness.
Rashid Shaheed agrees to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks
Retaining Shaheed, though, is brilliant. Many national pundits might point to his receiving numbers and believe Schneider overpaid, but that isn't a good indication of the wide receiver's true worth. He impacts two phases of the game, and neither can be overvalued.
He can get deep, sure, but where would Seattle have been without his prowess on special teams? His team trailed in Week 16 to the Los Angeles Rams 30-14 in the second half in a battle for the potential top seed in the NFC, but Shaheed returned a punt for 58 yards and a touchdown. The play changed the narrative of the game, the NFC playoffs, and Seattle's season.
Shaheed is also a fantastic player to have in the locker room. He has Pete Carroll-like positivity, and that's important to a team with a roster that might get even younger after the free agent losses of other key players. Thankfully, Rashid Shaheed won't be part of that group.
Again, many will look at Shaheed's numbers as a wide receiver and believe he was overpaid this offseason. That would be people not doing their research. Moving forward, Shaheed is likely to change the outcomes of games beyond what he might do as a receiver.
And let's not forget that while some will wrongfully point to his contribution as a receiver in the playoffs, they will forget his kickoff return against the San Francisco 49ers to open the Divisional Round, as well as his beating the New England Patriots deep in the Super Bowl, a pass that was slightly underthrown by Sam Darnold after the quarterback was under pressure.