Feb. 17, 2026, 7:00 p.m. PT
While the Seattle Seahawks aim to repeat as Super Bowl Champions in 2026, it’s likely they’ll have to do so without their big-time return man in Rashid Shaheed.
Shaheed has been with Kubiak in each of his last two stops as offensive coordinator, with the New Orleans Saints and in Seattle. As he builds the Las Vegas Raiders in his image, both his and Shaheed’s situation line up incredibly well once again. It’s no secret Kubiak likes what he brings to the table. The Raiders roster is thin at wide receiver and Shaheed is in pole position for a big payday. Him joining Kubiak for a third time could be the charm to his biggest defined role in an offense thus far in his career as well.
The Seahawks have plenty of free agents to juggle, beginning with Kenneth Walker III (who they won’t use the franchise tag on), and continuing through their historically sound defense in Tariq Woolen, Boye Mafe, Josh Jobe, and Coby Bryant. Shaheed was a perfect trade deadline acquisition and gave them exactly what they needed as a mid-season add. He made good on the fourth- and fifth- round picks Seattle gave up for him with legendarily clutch moments during their run to glory. But the Seahawks have Tory Horton coming back off injury next season, who proved to be a more than capable secondary wide receiver to Jaxon Smith-Njigba when healthy. Horton also looked great returning punts before he was injured and Shaheed stepped in. Investing free agent-level cap space in a possible third wideout, whose return capabilities might not be as big a need as they were the year prior, would get in the way of keeping the young core of superstars together in 2026 and beyond.
With where the Seahawks’ and Raiders’ are at in their current timelines, Shaheed and Kubiak reuniting in Las Vegas for a trilogy is logical.
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