Two months ago, Rashid Shaheed traveled to Seattle to play against the Seahawks as a member of the New Orleans Saints. On Wednesday, Shaheed walked into the Virginia Mason Athletic Center as the newest member of the Seahawks, having been acquired in a trade a day earlier.

After going from undrafted free agent out of Weber State to starting receiver and All-Pro returner in New Orleans, Shaheed has fond memories of his time with the Saints, but he's also excited to be joining the Seahawks.

"It was a bittersweet feeling, but a lot of excitement," Shaheed said Wednesday. "A lot of excitement for my family, myself, of course. Just excited about the journey, excited to be here, excited to be a part of this organization, and so far, it's been nothing but welcoming. I'm just feeling good right now."

The move takes Shaheed from a Saints team that has struggled this year to a 6-2 Seahawks squad that right in the thick of things with the top teams in the NFC.

"I know it's a winning organization, and that's what matters the most in this league,' Shaheed said of the Seahawks. "I'm just excited to be a part of it, get to know the guys and coaches, and just get acclimated with the culture around here."

Shaheed, a former high school track star who has been a big-play threat as a receiver and a returner during his four seasons in the NFL, describes himself as, "A guy with a lot of energy. A guy who loves to win and to compete. I can make plays on any level, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win."

Said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, "Really excited. He got in the building, so we're off and running. The offense is walking through right now. Obviously, he has familiarity with Klint (Kubiak) and our system, so hopefully it's an expedited getting up to speed. I've enjoyed our conversations since the trade, and the guys are excited."

As Macdonald pointed out, the Seahawks didn't come into the trade deadline feeling like they had any big holes on the roster to fill, but rather they saw an opportunity to add a talented player to an already explosive offense.

"It's a great opportunity to add to our team," Macdonald said. "It didn't feel like we were missing something, it's not like we were trying to plug holes or anything like that, it was just an opportunity to get a great player to augment what we're doing. I'm excited about it and we're excited to see him out there."

And while Shaheed was only a day into his Seahawks career when he met with the media on Wednesday, he made it clear he hopes to stick around well beyond the final nine games of this season.

"I'm here to stay," he said. "I'm excited to see if we can figure something out after the season ends. But, yeah, I'm excited."

Asked if that meant that he sees Seattle as his new home, Shaheed added, "Yes, long term."

And when it comes to getting acclimated to the Seahawks' culture, as Shaheed put it, Macdonald does not see that being an issue, thanks in part because of what they've heard about Shaheed from offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was the offensive coordinator in New Orleans last season.

"Our type of guy," Macdonald said. "There's a presence, there's a difference to him out on the field. He's a playmaker, obviously the speed is real, making plays down the field, things like that. (Kubiak) obviously felt like he's a great player. We had an alignment. It was Klint, it was our personnel folks—John (Schneider) can worry about the compensation and all that—but it's great."

Macdonald added that a player's fit within a team's culture is "definitely part of our calculus" when making an addition to the roster, but he feels good about the way the team will bring Shaheed into the fold.

"Talking just in general here, whoever we bring in, I feel like our culture is strong where our vets will do a great job of bringing him in," Macdonald said. "Hopefully it's pretty obvious pretty quickly as you walk in here and you're part our team meetings, and how we operate, how we practice, that we have a certain style and way about us that they can be assimilated into."

Given his familiarity in Kubiak's offense, as the success he had in it last season—he had 20 catches for 349 yards for a career-best 17.5 yards-per-catch average in six games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury—Shaheed should not only be a fit in the Seahawks' culture, but also in the offense as he joins a receiving group led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and rookie Tory Horton.

"I feel like there's a lot of wide-open opportunities," he said of Kubiak's offense. "I would get into a lot of play action and stuff like that, so I could stretch the field vertically. I feel like I could bring that into this offense. Any type of explosiveness, I'm all here for it."

In addition to his role in Seattle's offense, Shaheed will also be involved in the return game, Macdonald said. Shaheed has returned both kicks and punts in his career, and Macdonald said he will work on both in practice, though he indicated that Horton, who had a 95-yard punt return touchdown earlier this season, will remain the primary punt returner.

"We're working through it," Macdonald said. "It's fair to say return game for right now. Tory is still going to be our returner, but we'll train him at punt return."