‘Play free, play fast’: How Super Bowl-bound Rashid Shaheed made the most of his opportunities

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Rashid Shaheed is a perfect example of someone who takes advantage of their opportunities.

When he was a little-recruited return specialist with track speed from the San Diego area coming out of high school, Shaheed ended up at Weber State under head coach Jay Hill and became a four-time All-American as a return specialist and receiving weapon.

When he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent — and was coming off an ACL injury that prevented him from working out in the pre-draft process — the New Orleans Saints saw Shaheed’s potential and signed him to a deal.

He turned that into a productive three-and-a-half years with the franchise.

When the Saints traded him midseason during the 2025 campaign to the Seattle Seahawks, Shaheed adjusted again — and while he’s not as prominent in the Seahawks’ passing game as he was in New Orleans, Shaheed has made big plays in Seattle on special teams.

Several of those plays have been important to the Seahawks’ postseason run.

And now, he’s headed to Super Bowl LX with Seattle, where the Seahawks will face the New England Patriots on Sunday (4:30 p.m. MST, NBC) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

What will Shaheed do with that opportunity?

That answer will come Sunday.

“I feel like the journey has shaped me to be not only the player, but the person that I am today,” Shaheed told the Deseret News in an exclusive interview ahead of Super Bowl LX.

“Obviously, coming in from an FCS school, Weber State, coming into the league with an injury, not knowing if I’m going to get the opportunity eventually, I just made the most of my opportunities, and that’s all I’ve done up to this point.”

A home in New Orleans and a midseason trade

Shaheed’s NFL career started modestly enough, as an under-the-radar addition during the 2022 offseason.

It didn’t take long for New Orleans to fall in love with the 6-foot, speedy Shaheed, though.

Despite coming off an ACL injury, he ended up with 34 receptions for 488 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.

His best receiving season thus far came in 2023, when he caught 75 passes for 719 yards and five touchdowns. He also earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time that season as a return specialist.

A meniscus injury suffered in Week 6 of the 2024 season sidelined him the rest of that year, one where he was on pace to break his career numbers from that 2023 season.

Then this year, there was a midseason trade from New Orleans to Seattle.

“That’s an organization that gave me the opportunity to live out my dreams,” Shaheed said of the Saints franchise. “They treated me with so much respect, not only me, but my family — made us feel at home, made us feel welcome, and that just allowed me to go out there and just have fun and play the game that I love.

“Obviously, I loved my time in New Orleans and I can’t thank the organization enough.”

The trade brought up a flood of emotions for Shaheed, who had 2,055 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns with the Saints, though he went in confident he would make an impact with his new team.

“It was a lot, obviously, my first time being traded, being a new team, new city, organization,” Shaheed said.

“... I knew that I’d be able to get a grasp of the offensive game quickly. The transition has been smooth, and I appreciate my coaches and my teammates.”

Getting adjusted to Seattle

There was a familiar face for Shaheed when he landed in Seattle: Klink Kubiak, the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator, who held the same role in New Orleans during the 2023 season.

Kubiak is the reported choice to take over as the Las Vegas Raiders’ next head coach.

Having Kubiak in Seattle, though, helped the transition for Shaheed. He’s impressed with how tough the Seahawks play, week in and week out.

“Every man plays for the guy next to him, and that’s the recipe for winning, not only on offense, but defense and special teams. We all take pride in what we do and have fun doing it.”

Rashid Shaheed

“Every man plays for the guy next to him, and that’s the recipe for winning, not only on offense, but defense and special teams. We all take pride in what we do and have fun doing it,” Shaheed said.

While Shaheed’s biggest impacts in Seattle have come on special teams, he still had 15 receptions for 188 yards during the regular season.

He’s joined a wide receiver group that includes veteran Cooper Kupp, another FCS product who played at Eastern Washington, and shifty Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was named The Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week.

“With those guys, man, I just kind of sit back and watch them work,” Shaheed said.

Having the ninth-year pro Kupp, who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams, is “like having another coach” for Shaheed on the field and in the film room.

“He knows what’s going to happen. He teaches us, me and Jax, what to look for in film, guys’ tendencies, all that,” Shaheed said. “I’m learning a lot from him.”

Shaheed has been impressed with the work ethic and approach that Smith-Njigba, the third-year pro, brings to the field every day.

“Jaxon man, just the way he works, the way he shows up every day with a smile on his face and just the teammate that he is,” Shaheed said, of what stands out about the receiver who led the NFL in receiving yards (1,793) this season.

“He’s gonna go out there and compete. It’s been a real pleasure working with these guys.”

Big-play potential and a Super Bowl appearance

It’s little surprise that Shaheed was one of the more popular interviews during Super Bowl media opportunities at the San Jose Convention Center this week — his big-play ability gets him noticed.

Since arriving in Seattle, he’s produced multiple momentum-changing moments, and that popularity extends over to the Seahawks fanbase.

He’s scored three touchdowns on special teams, giving him five for his career. That earned Shaheed his second Pro Bowl citation.

It started with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in Week 14, when he took the second-half kick back for six points against Atlanta to break a 6-6 tie in an eventual 37-9 Seahawks win.

Shaheed kept upping the ante with his ensuing big returns.

During a Week 16 matchup against the Rams, a critical game in terms of NFC seeding, the Seahawks trailed 30-14 midway through the fourth quarter.

In front of the electric Lumen Field home crowd, Shaheed changed the complexion of the game with a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:03 to play.

Seattle forced overtime, then won 38-37 in the extra session in a game that helped the Seahawks earn the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Then, in the divisional round with NFC West rival San Francisco coming to town, Shaheed started off the playoff contest with another electric play. His 95-yard touchdown on the game’s opening kickoff sparked a 41-6 win over the 49ers.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! @RashidShaheed on the opening play 🤯

📺: @NFLonFoxpic.twitter.com/ZzMrFLI9l9

— xz* - Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 18, 2026

“I know the opportunities are going to come. My coaches believe in me to make those types of plays, and that just allows me to go out there and play free, play fast and just do what I’ve been coached to do,” Shaheed said.

“(It’s a) big testament to the coaches for just allowing me to go out there and allow my ability to (make plays).”

During Seattle’s postseason run, Shaheed has three kickoff returns for 147 yards (a 49-yard average), a 51-yard catch and three carries for 27 yards.

That 51-yard reception set up Seattle’s opening touchdown in the Seahawks’ 31-27 win over the Rams in the NFC championship game.

He’ll have opportunities to again make big plays in Sunday’s Super Bowl. In 59 previous Super Bowls, there have been 10 kickoff returns for touchdowns, but no one has ever returned a punt for a touchdown.

For Shaheed, the key Sunday against the Patriots is sticking together as a team.

“Obviously, the magnitude is much, much bigger, but as long as we continue to do what we have all season, that’s just stick together, play all four quarters, we know that a team has to play us all four quarters, and we don’t believe that they can play with our style,” Shaheed said.

“That’s with a lot of passion, aggression on a lot of big plays. We enjoy what we do, and it’s gonna be a fun game.”

Gratitude for his time at Weber State

No matter how Super Bowl LX ends up, Shaheed will represent Weber State in a positive way.

He credits his time with the Wildcats for helping him develop as a wide receiver and becoming a well-respected (and feared) return specialist.

“That’s where I developed my game. Like I said, I had great coaches to learn from, great schemes. Obviously, I was able to make a lot of plays in the return game, but I grew so much as a wide receiver, and that was just taking a lot of time, spending time on my craft,” Shaheed said.

“Being at a small school, it allowed me to work on that even more with limited distractions, small city. All it was was just work and continue to get better. And that’s how I’ve been able to progress.”

Shaheed is joining an elite group of Weber State alums who’ve reached the Super Bowl.

There are six former Wildcats who’ve won a Super Bowl ring, a list that includes Lee White, Darryl Pollard, Jamie Martin, Marcus Mailei, Paul McQuistan and Jonah Williams.

Shaheed will be only the fourth former Weber State player, though, to actually play in the Super Bowl. That more exclusive list includes Pollard, who started for the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV, Al Pupunu and McQuistan.

It means a lot for Shaheed to represent his alma mater, and a victory Sunday would just make it sweeter.

“I think that moment would just be bigger than just me,” he said about the possibility of earning a Super Bowl ring. “That would be an opportunity to let kids know that you can make it from anywhere. You don’t have to go to a Power Five school. You can go to an FCS school and make it happen.

“And as long as you play the game the right way, teams will find you. Don’t be afraid to take that risk and just go anywhere you get an opportunity to play football and do what you love. Pursue it.”