Why Seahawks need to get Rashid Shaheed up to speed fast | Notebook

RENTON — The newest Seahawk, receiver Rashid Shaheed, was still in acclimation mode as Thursday began.

Among other first-week, on-the-job duties for Shaheed?

Before his first full practice with the team, Shaheed spent time with the equipment staff getting properly fitted for shoulder pads (the Seahawks held a walk-through Wednesday, Shaheed’s first day with the team).

Shaheed hung around long after practice, catching a few extra passes and appearing to get a bit more familiar with his new surroundings.

If Shaheed is still learning his way around the VMAC, he doesn’t really need an introduction to his new teammates.

Shaheed played against the Seahawks on Sept. 21 as a member of the New Orleans Saints.

The Seahawks won 44-13, but Shaheed made an impression with four catches for 42 yards and with a 40-yard punt return.

“He’s fast as hell,” defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “Just added another great guy to the receiving group that’s already doing a very good job. Anytime we can add a good player to help us get to where we want to go, wherever that may be, to be 1-0 every week, that’s good.”

Quarterback Sam Darnold noted he saw a lot of Shaheed this spring as he studied film of the Saints offense last season as he got re-acclimated to the scheme of Klint Kubiak, who was the offensive coordinator for New Orleans last season before coming to Seattle.

“I think everybody knows him as a burner,” Darold said. “He can run. He does so many different things, whether it’s speed sweeps, all those things. Even just studying the New Orleans tape from last year, getting ready for this year, you saw a ton of him doing a lot of things on the field that normal receivers don’t do. Again, just to see the way that he runs routes, too, not only just as a deep threat and speed sweep guy, but he does a lot of great things running routes and changing direction.”

Kubiak knows him better than anyone.

Shaheed caught 20 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns in six games in 2024 with Kubiak as the Saints OC before he suffered a meniscus injury and missed the rest of the season.

“It was exciting for us,” Kubiak said of getting Shaheed in a trade in which the Seahawks gave up fourth- and fifth-round NFL draft picks in 2026. “I think we’re adding a really good player. It’s up to us to get him up to speed pretty quickly here. But I also can’t say enough about the guys that we have, and we just have to keep getting everybody better all together.”

Kubiak said what impressed him as much as anything Shaheed does on the field is his approach off it.

“Rashid’s a hard worker,” Kubiak said. “He’s a really good kid, football is important to him, and he’s a really good teammate. When you’re bringing somebody on, you want to make sure they gel with what coach is building around here. Coach (Mike) Macdonald and I know that he does.”

While Shaheed is familiar with the offensive scheme, a trade at midseason will still require some adjustments, mostly in having to forget the verbiage of the offense he was playing this season and picking up any new things in the Seahawks’ attack now.

“He’s going to learn a lot,” Kubiak said. “It’s not easy, but he’s a pro. I think this is his fourth year and we’re going to expect him to know a lot really fast.”

Horton sits out practice

The Seahawks were already hoping that Shaheed will be able to play some in Sunday’s game against Arizona at Lumen Field.

But the injury situation at wide receiver could make it even more imperative that Shaheed is ready as can be to take on a heavy workload.

Four receivers were either listed as limited or not participating in Thursday’s practice, including rookie Tory Horton.

Horton was listed on Wednesday’s injury report with a groin issue but was a full participant.

He was again on the injury report Thursday but this time listed as not participating and with a shin injury.

Macdonald does not talk to the media Thursdays, so there was no additional info on Horton’s injuries and whether they might impact his status for Sunday.

If Horton can’t play, Shaheed would not only likely take on a bigger role in the offense but also take over for Horton as the punt returner.

Also listed as DNP were Jake Bobo (calf, previously listed as Achilles) and Dareke Young (quadriceps). Each were also listed as DNP on Wednesday.

Cooper Kupp was listed as limited Thursday with heel and hamstring injuries, an upgrade from Wednesday when he was listed as out. Kupp sat out the Washington game with the hamstring injury regarded as the more serious of the two issues.

Again sitting out was cornerback Josh Jobe, who is in the concussion protocol. Also listed as limited were linebacker Ernest Jones IV (knee) and tight end AJ Barner (calf). Everybody else was a full participant.

The Seahawks will release a game status report Friday.

Lawrence sends his condolences

Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence began his meeting with the media Thursday by saying he wanted to send his best wishes to the family of Marshawn Kneeland, a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys who was found dead of an apparent suicide Thursday.

The two were teammates in Dallas last year in Kneeland’s rookie season.

“It’s tough to lose a brother in a situation like this so I want to send my condolences, my love, and my prayers,’’ Lawrence said. “I know he loved the game, he loved to smile, and he loved interaction with his teammates. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him last year. In about the fourth game I got hurt, so that kind of messed up our relationship and the time that we had to be together in meetings and stuff. But he was a fun, young guy and I loved being around him. He’s going to be missed.”

Practice squad shuffle

The Seahawks made one practice squad move Thursday, signing tight end Marshall Lang and releasing offensive tackle Logan Brown.

Lang is an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern who was with the Seahawks in training camp, catching three passes for 20 yards in preseason games before being waived at the cutdown to 53. He was recently on the practice squad of the Patriots.

Lang adds depth at a tight end spot dealing with some injuries with Eric Saubert going on injured reserve last week and Barner on the injury report this week. Elijah Arroyo is also on the injury report with an elbow issue but listed as a full participant.

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