Steelers matched offer for Saints burner Rashid Shaheed, but he preferred Seahawks

The NFL trade deadline turned out to be pretty eventful, with several blockbuster deals going down. The Seattle Seahawks were heavily involved - and reportedly were in talks to trade both Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen but decided to keep both of them.

Instead, the Seahawks front office went into the deadline with a strong buyer's mentality, and they came away with one of the biggest acquisitions around the league.

Seattle wound up sending fourth and fifth-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, who's also an All-Pro punt returner.

As it turns out, they weren't the only interested party. According to Pittsburgh insider Chris Halicke, the Steelers made the exact same offer to the Saints for Shaheed. However, he preferred to go to the Seahawks instead, so the Saints granted his request.

Rashid Shaheed wanted Seahawks > Steelers

𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: The Steelers made the same offer as Seattle did for WR Rashid Shaheed, but Shaheed preferred to go to the Seahawks and reunite with Klint Kubiak, per @ChrisHalicke

“Shaheed preferred to go to Seattle to reunite with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whom he… pic.twitter.com/8Pdgo4w9JS
— JPA (@jasrifootball) November 7, 2025

This was a smart decision by Shaheed. In Pittsburgh he would have had to learn a new scheme under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. In Seattle, he's reunited with Klint Kubiak, who had previously been his OC in New Orleans.

That familiarity should help Shaheed hit the ground running with the Seahawks, who happen to be perilously thin at wide receiver right now.

In addition to the Kubiak link, Seattle offers Shaheed a better chance at winning, which the Saints didn't do much of during his four years in New Orleans - where they haven't made the playoffs since 2020.

While the Steelers have a strong lead in what turned out to be a dismal AFC North race, the Seahawks are a far better team according to the advanced stats, and they're also at the top of their own division, currently tied with the LA Rams.

Most of all, going to Seattle will help Shaheed reach his full potential in a way that he couldn't with any other team. Sam Darnold has had the most-productive deep ball in the league the last year and a half - which matches up very well with Shaheed's chops as an elite vertical threat.

We will get our first look at Shaheed in a Seahawks uniform later today when they host the Arizona Cardinals.

Rashid Shaheed wanted Seahawks > Steelers

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