Have a day, Rashid Shaheed. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver went off against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to the tune of 199 all-purpose yards — racking up 153 receiving yards while gaining 46 return yards on special teams. That’s the second-highest single game total of his career in pro football. Shaheed put up 216 all-purpose yards in this year’s season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans.
And he did it the hard way. Shaheed only caught three receptions but they were all deep shots downfield with defenders closing in, if not fighting to wrestle the ball out of his arms. And he returned four punts to gain those yards in the kicking game and help set the offense up in favorable starting field position. It’s not like he was running free on kick returns or catching a ton of passes short of the sticks.
Still, he has a ways to go in chasing the Saints franchise record. Michael Lewis set that bar high back in 2002 with 356 all-purpose yards when he returned five kicks for 203 yards, also gaining 70 yards on two receptions. Lewis scored twice on a 90-yard kickoff return and later on an 83-yard punt return.
So props to Shaheed for a great game against the Colts. The Saints will need more highlights from him to get where they want to go this season and not just qualify, but make some noise in the playoffs.
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