The Seattle Seahawks have undeniably been one of the best success stories of the 2025 NFL season. After making a few bold choices in the offseason, their continued success throughout the year has paid massive dividends. With the playoffs looking likely, the organization was projected to be a massive buyer at the trade deadline.
As it turned out, they did not disappoint one bit. Already boasting arguably the best threat in the entire NFL this year, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, they took a huge swing to pair him with another weapon for the resurgent Sam Darnold.
Seahawks Add Weapon for Sam Darnold
With Cooper Kupp failing to live up to expectations in Seattle, the team needed some more help alongside their superstar wide receiver. As a result, a move felt imminent, and in one of the more shocking moves of the year, they traded for Rashid Shaheed.
With the New Orleans Saints struggling to a 1-8 record, it seemed inevitable that a few moves could be on the horizon as the team prepared for its future. But Shaheed being the first ball to drop might not have been in most people’s expectations.
Tom Pelissero reported on X, “Trade! The Saints are sending WR Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks, sources tell me and @RapSheet.” Soon after, New Orleans insider Nick Underhill confirmed, “Saints are receiving fourth and fifth round picks in 2026 for Shaheed, per source.”
Thanks to the brilliance of Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks had an offense that ranked 11th on PFSN’s Offense Impact. But with a 6-2 record as the one-seed in a brutal NFC West, they needed some more firepower to keep things steady.
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Shaheed, who made the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro thanks to his Swiss Army knife talents just two seasons ago, helps them majorly in that regard. Even this year, as he’s tallied 499 yards and two touchdowns for a despondent New Orleans team, he has been able to add over 150 return yards to the table as well.
Ranked 36th on PFSN’s WR Impact, he would immediately become the second-best threat on the Seahawks. The biggest reason for Seattle to make the trade, though, has to do with another player that arrived in the offseason.
Kupp, in an ugly separation from the Los Angeles Rams, joined the Seahawks as potentially another weapon to allow Darnold to be his best self. However, through nine weeks, he had just 293 receiving yards and a single touchdown.
With their expectations rising alongside the record, adding another proven threat could end up elevating this team from just another piece in the playoff race.