The New Orleans Saints made a splash ahead of the NFL trade deadline when they traded away WR Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks in exchange for draft picks.
It wasn't a particularly stunning move, considering the Saints' 1-8 start and multiple trades to bring in WRs already this offseason, but it did mark the frustrating reality of their current situation. The team brought back 4th and 5th round selections in the 2026 draft in the deal.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore spoke exclusively with WWL Radio's Mike Hoss after the trade. Here's what he had to say:
“Trades are really hard in this league. There’s a personal side of this thing that always naturally grabs you. Loved Shaheed, one of the nicest people you can possible meet in the NFL. He’s an awesome person. He’s competitive. He’s had so much success in this league and he’s earned it through his whole entire journey in this league and so there’s a bittersweet component to this. We understand the business side of this. There’s an opportunity that from our team standpoint there’s some value in this moving forward as far as the assets you collect. We have some younger players that we feel like we’ll certainly have opportunities moving forward that we’re excited about, and you know, for Shaheed he’s going to go out there and I’m sure he’s going to play really, really well for Seattle and continue the success that he’s carried.”
On Shaheed's speed as a difference-maker
“His ability to separate downfield is second to none in this league. He’ll continue to do it. For us, this is, while a challenging time, we understand the business side of this, but for our younger guys there is a tremendous opportunity in this.”
What happens now for young players with increased opportunities
“We feel like we have made a few trades that we feel like provide some long-term perspective. Certainly with [Devaughn] Vele, Ja’Lynn [Polk], Luke [Fortner], Asim [Richards], those four guys on offense ... we have a long-term perspective, for, and to have a few extra draft picks in this draft is always valuable. You can see what last year’s draft class turned into and we feel like they’re progressing really, really well. We had two picks that were acquired from a late, trade deadline trade last year and so we feel like this can continue to build a young foundation that’s going to carry this thing for a long time.”
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Hear a full, exclusive interview with Saints head coach Kellen Moore in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Shaheed started all nine games for the Saints this season and was second on the team with 44 catches for 499 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He's been among the most elite deep threats in the NFL over his four NFL seasons, though this year's offense has failed to tap into that skillset outside of an 87-yard touchdown against the Giants and a 39-yard catch and run against the 49ers.
The Saints were aggressive late in training camp in bringing in Vele in a deal with the Broncos, with the 6-5 receiver filling a clear need in a WR room populated with smaller-framed players. The Saints gave up a 2026 4th and 2027 7th in the deal, though to this point Vele has been the fourth option in terms of usage behind Chris Olave, Shaheed and even veteran Brandin Cooks.
That scenario looks like it could change over the second half of the season with more reps and targets to go around. The Saints also executed a trade for former Patriots' WR Ja'Lynn Polk, who will not play this season due to injury. Polk was a second round pick in 2024 and provides another option as the Saints look to build to the future.