NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — New Orleans Saints WR/RS Rashid Shaheed was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, the National Football League announced Wednesday.
Shaheed’s selection as a starter at the return specialist position marks the 16th consecutive season that the club has had at least one Pro Bowl selection.
In the second year of its current format, the 2024 Pro Bowl games, will be a multi-day AFC versus NFC competition in Orlando, Fl., culminating in a flag football game on Sunday, Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium.
The contest will be televised from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. CT on ESPN, ABC, Disney XD, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
Shaheed, originally signed by New Orleans after the 2022 NFL Draft out of Weber State, is ranked second in the NFC and third in the NFL in punt return average (14.0) and is the fourth Saint to be selected to the Pro Bowl as a returner, joining Tyrone Hughes (1993), Michael Lewis (2002) and Deonte Harris (2019). He has brought back 23 punts for 321 yards (14.0 avg.) with a 76-yard touchdown while returning 18 kickoffs for 384 yards (21.3 avg.). On offense, he has caught 43 passes for 654 yards (15.2 avg.) with four touchdowns and has rushed seven times for 37 yards for 1,396 all-purpose yards, ranked ninth in the NFL.
On Sept. 24, at Green Bay, Shaheed brought back a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, the third-longest punt return in franchise history.
In two seasons, Shaheed has returned 43 punts for 514 yards and a touchdown, with his 12.0 punt return average ranked third in franchise record books. He has also returned 32 kickoffs for 704 yards (22.0 avg.), caught 71 passes for 1,142 yards (16.1 avg.) with six touchdowns and carried 11 times for 94 yards (8.5 avg.) with a 44-yard touchdown.
The San Diego, Calif. native was a five-year letterman at Weber State, finishing his college career as one of the FCS’ most prolific kick returners. He appeared in 52 games and finished with 88 kickoff returns for 2,560 yards (29.1 avg.) with seven touchdowns and had 40 punt returns for 575 yards (10.8 avg.).
Shaheed logged 146 receptions for 2,164 yards (14.8 avg.) with 18 touchdowns and a long of 73, while carrying 30 times for 179 yards and two scores. He departed Weber State as the only player in the school’s history to earn All-American honors in four seasons.
{Courtesy: New Orleans Saints}
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