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Rashid Shaheed

Saints Tender ERFA WR Rashid Shaheed

March 8th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Some may forget as he hasn’t played like it, but Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was an undrafted free agent just two years ago. And like most unrestricted free agents who find their way to the 53-man roster early in their careers, Shaheed faces free agency after only two seasons in the league. With fewer than three accrued seasons in the NFL, Shaheed qualifies as an exclusive rights free agent, allowing the team to retain him with a simple tender offer, which they chose to do this week, according to John Hendrix of Sports Illustrated.

This tender offer from New Orleans guarantees that Shaheed will be on the roster in 2024. Exclusive rights free agents essentially only have a take-it-or-leave-it option. If the team decides to make a tender offer, a one-year contract at the value of the league minimum for a three-year veteran, the player is unable to negotiate with other teams and is required to sign the deal in order to play in 2024.

For the league minimum, New Orleans is getting quite the steal. As a rookie, Shaheed was a solid complementary wide receiver. This past season, Shaheed only got better, solidifying himself as a reliable WR2 behind Chris Olave. In addition to his receiving duties, Shaheed has established himself as the team’s primary return man over the last two years, even getting Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors as a returner this season.

While the wide receiving corps is set to look slightly different in 2024 with veteran wide receiver Michael Thomas expected to be released when the new league year begins, Shaheed will now return alongside Olave and A.T. Perry, providing some young consistency for quarterback Derek Carr next season.

NFL Injury Updates: McGlinchey, Browns, Shaheed, Byrd

August 9th, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Ely Allen

The Broncos endured a scare yesterday when new offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was rolled up on in camp. According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, it sounds like they avoided disaster as their starting right tackle only suffered a sprained knee.

Denver brought on McGlinchey, who was one of this offseason’s most prized free agents, at the open of free agency, shortly after also signing former Ravens guard Ben Powers. It showed how serious the team was about bulking up their offensive line to protect a veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson, who struggled last year in a new system.

Luckily, it sounds like McGlinchey avoided serious injury. This shouldn’t end up anything like the torn quadriceps injury that cut his 2021 season short. Klis claims that McGlinchey should only miss two to three weeks. He’ll have to take it easy for the entire preseason, but he should be ready to make his Broncos debut in the team’s season opener against the Raiders.

In the team’s first released depth chart of the season, veteran swing tackle Cameron Fleming is listed as McGlinchey’s primary backup. He should get a good run over the next few weeks in case McGlinchey’s recovery leaks into the regular season.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:

  • The Browns also experienced a couple of minor scares when two second-year defensive ends went down with “significant knee injuries,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Both Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas suffered injuries this week that had head coach Kevin Stefanski thinking they would each “miss an extended period of time.” Luckily, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided an update today that, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery, both players are expected to return “early in the season.” Although Wright started five games last year, both players are considered rotational backups. The position’s depth takes a hit, but the stars are still there.
  • Cleveland is down another second-year player in running back Jerome Ford, who is reportedly “week-to-week” with a hip injury, according to Browns staff writer Anthony Polsal. Although Ford’s main contribution as a rookie came returning kickoffs, he’s been expected to take the next step at running back this year with the departure of Kareem Hunt. He had been “receiving a considerable amount of reps” in camp before limping off the practice field on Monday. The team will turn to Demetric Felton, John Kelly, and undrafted rookie Hassan Hall in Ford’s absence, but they believe there’s a chance Ford could be back by Week 1.
  • Saints second-year wide receiver Rashid Shaheed missed another practice today, according to NOF Network. The surprise rookie contributor from last year has been missing a bit of time through camp with a groin injury. The report claims that, while Shaheed is expected to miss a few weeks, he should be ready to go for the team’s regular season opener.
  • The Panthers depth at wide receiver took a hit yesterday as veteran Damiere Byrd suffered “a significant hamstring injury,” according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. New head coach Frank Reich says that Byrd could need surgery. If so, it’s expected that the wideout would “miss at least eight weeks.” The new-look top-end remains the same with free agent additions Adam Thielen and DJ Chark and second-round rookie Jonathan Mingo. Behind them, Carolina still sports a strong backup group including Terrace Marshall, Laviska Shenault, Shi Smith, and others.

NFC South Rumors: Alford, Mays, Saints

July 1st, 2023 at 5:55pm CST by Ely Allen

In January 2022, the Falcons signed cornerback Dee Alford out of the Canadian Football League to a reserve/futures contract. A year and a half later, Alford could be pushing for a starting role, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

After going undrafted out of Tusculum, Alford signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2020 but didn’t get to play after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. When the team returned in 2021, Alford won a starting job and helped lead the Bombers to their second consecutive Grey Cup title.

Following his signing in the offseason, Alford defied the odds by making the 53-man roster. Alford served as a depth piece in the Falcons secondary for much of the year but did come up with a few big plays. In a Week 2 loss to the Rams, Alford gained his team two points with a safety. Two weeks later, he recorded a game-clinching interception over the Browns.

According to Rothstein, Alford has been rising in the offseason for Atlanta. In spring practices, Alford reportedly “took the vast majority of first-team reps at slot (cornerback).” Mike Hughes was the presumed starter at nickelback heading into the offseason, but Alford is making himself hard to ignore as he pushes for a starting role.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of the NFC South:

  • A sixth-round pick for the Panthers last year, Cade Mays may find himself in a bit of a larger role than last year to start the 2023 season, according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. With starting right guard Austin Corbett still recovering from an ACL repair surgery, Mays has reportedly stepped up this offseason. While his rookie year saw him block out of the backfield in short-yardage situations, Mays is in line to begin the season as a starter at right guard for Carolina.
  • The Saints are no strangers to injuries in the past few years. They are feeling it the worst this season in the wide receiving corps, where we got some recent updates from Terrin Waack of nola.com. Michael Thomas‘s woes continued thanks to toe surgery that landed him on injured reserve last year. He’s “slowly but surely” working his way back but is, reportedly, “still not full-go.” Last year’s rookie sensation Chris Olave missed the end of minicamp with an inflamed Achilles tendon but is expected to be okay. The other rookie from last year, Rashid Shaheed, suffered a groin injury in organized team activities that held him out of minicamp. He’s also expected to be fine by the time camp rolls around.

Saints Cut Roster Down To 53

August 30th, 2022 at 6:59pm CST by Ely Allen

New Orleans got a head start on the deadline for roster cuts this weekend with several moves, but the team found its way to the 53-man limit today. Here are the moves the Saints made today to get there:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/injured:

Placed on reserve/suspended by commissioner:

The big story of the day for New Orleans was the trade this morning that sent defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to Philadelphia. The defensive back had pushed for an extension, staging a hold-in effort early in camp, but ultimately found himself on his way to Pennsylvania, paving the way for the Saints to hold onto six safeties. Safety Daniel Sorensen is on the roster for his special teams contributions, but Justin Evans will really be given a chance to contribute at safety in the absence of Gardner-Johnson.

Despite seeing fellow defensive tackle Huggins head to injured reserve, rookie sixth-round pick Jackson was unable to hold onto a roster spot, being the only member of the Saints’ rookie draft class who failed to do so. The offseason addition of Kentavius Street was likely the determining factor that left Jackson off the 53-man roster.

The team did see an undrafted free agent make the final roster as offensive lineman Lewis Kidd worked his way out of Montana State to make the Saints’ initial 53. He’ll serve as a depth piece on an offensive line with quite a few injury questions.

A position group that definitely looks improved on paper is the receiving corps who gets back Michael Thomas and added first-round pick Chris Olave and veteran Jarvis Landry in the offseason. These new targets will combine with the tight ends group, that includes swiss-army man Taysom Hill, as weapons for quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton.

Besides all the above, the team will look fairly similar in composition to last year’s. The running backs, special teams, defensive ends, and cornerbacks will look largely the same as the team heads into the 2022 NFL season. Where things could end up looking different is on the practice squad. After clearing waivers, many of the players above will have the opportunity to rejoin the Saints’ 16-man squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/22

August 8th, 2022 at 6:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived/injured: DT Bryce Rodgers

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: WR Matt Cole
  • Reverted to IR: WR Jequez Ezzard

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/19/22

July 19th, 2022 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived: QB Nate Stanley

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

  • Placed on NFI: WR Rashid Shaheed

New York Jets

Saints Announce 17 Undrafted Free Agent Signings

May 1st, 2022 at 6:09pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints are one of the first teams after the 2022 NFL Draft to officially announce their undrafted free agent class. Here’s New Orleans’ full list:

New Orleans only had five draft picks after having to forfeit a sixth-round pick due to COVID-19 violations, so their UDFA class was going to be important for adding depth.

After seeing Marcus Williams depart for Baltimore in free agency, the Saints were seeking some depth at safety. After failing to address the position in the Draft, the team has reportedly picked up its pursuit of free agent Tyrann Mathieu. They also signed some UDFAs with safety potential for some cheaper depth options.

They were able to nab some quality names like Monday and Pryor and managed to bring in some camp competition for kicker Wil Lutz and punter Blake Gillikin.