Former Weber State football star Rashid Shaheed scores TD on first career NFL touch
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- New Orleans Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) runs for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals’ Vonn Bell (24) on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, in New Orleans.
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- New Orleans Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) celebrates his touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, in New Orleans.
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- New Orleans Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) runs past Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (22) for a touchdown Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, in New Orleans.
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- New Orleans Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) runs past Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (22) for a touchdown Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, in New Orleans.
After a long road back to the field, Rashid Shaheed certainly had a memorable way to begin his NFL career.
The former Weber State football kick returner and dynamic receiver was elevated from the practice squad to the New Orleans Saints’ active roster for Sunday’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
And his very first NFL touch was a house call.
Early in the second quarter, Shaheed took a receiver sweep from Andy Dalton around the right side, turned one defensive back around and burst past another feeble diving attempt to stop him, going 44 yards for a rushing touchdown to put the Saints up 14-7.
THAT SHAHEED SPEED ????????????????
44-yard TD run ????#Saints | ????: CBS pic.twitter.com/eBbPUJyvmw
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 16, 2022
A rewarding result for the rookie, no doubt, but even better for Shaheed who returned to the field for a game for the first time since suffering a leg injury 11 months ago in his Weber State collegiate finale.
Shaheed left Weber State as the all-time FCS career record holder in kickoff return touchdowns, running back seven kicks in his time as a Wildcat. That also tied him for the career record in both Division I subdivisions. His 29.1 yards per kick return is a WSU school record. He played in 53 games at Weber State, totaling 2,178 receiving yards and 5,478 all-purpose yards, the latter ranking as the third-most in WSU history.
Shaheed was targeted with an incomplete throw early in the game, and his only other touch Sunday was a 20-yard kick return in the third quarter. The Bengals scored on a 52-yard field goal and a 60-yard touchdown pass in the game’s final four minutes to defeat the Saints 30-26.
“He came in, stepped up and played a big role,” fellow receiver Marquez Callaway said about Shaheed, as reported by NOLA.com. “It sucked that it didn’t help us win, but now I feel like the coaches have a little more trust in him and hopefully we see more of him in the games.”
First career NFL touch = first career NFL TD
???? @RashidShaheed #Sants | @weberstatefb pic.twitter.com/3aruEypqZp
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 16, 2022