Rashid Shaheed has gone from undrafted long shot to Seattle Seahawks All-Pro, and his rise has a very specific origin story. It starts at home, with parents who were elite athletes themselves and who quietly built the foundation for the wide receiver and returner lighting up the NFL. To understand who Rashid is now, you have to look at Haneef and Cassondra Shaheed and the track-driven family culture they created.
The Seahawks star did not just inherit speed, he grew up in a household where running, discipline and belief were everyday expectations. His parents saw his potential early, nudged him toward his own lane instead of theirs, and then backed his football dream even when the odds were stacked against him.
The track roots of Haneef and Cassondra Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed’s story starts with two parents who knew exactly what elite speed looks like because they lived it. His father, Haneef, was a sprinter at Arizona State and his mother, Cassondra, also ran track, giving their son a genetic head start and a built-in coaching staff. Both parents competed seriously enough that track was not just a hobby, it was the family language, and that shaped how they raised their kids. In a home like that, form, stride and work ethic were as normal at the dinner table as homework and chores.
That background explains why Rashid grew up in a family of track and field athletes and why his speed looks so effortless now. Reporting on his early years notes that Shaheed’s parents both, and that schools like USC saw enough in him that he could have followed their path on the oval instead of the gridiron. Instead, they watched their son choose the sport he loved, then shifted from track mentors to full-time football parents without trying to script his career for him.
Raising a football star in a track family
Growing up in San Diego, Rashid was surrounded by that track culture but never boxed in by it. His parents, Haneef and Cassondra, always knew their son had rare speed, yet they let him experiment with football until it became clear that catching passes and returning kicks was what actually lit him up. Accounts of his childhood describe how he learned to run almost as soon as he learned to walk, then simply never stopped, with one clip noting that Rashid ran everywhere as a kid. That constant motion, sharpened by parents who understood mechanics, became his superpower once he picked up a football.
Haneef and Cassondra did more than pass along fast-twitch genes, they built a support system that let their son chase a riskier dream. When Rashid went undrafted out of Weber State, it would have been easy to steer him toward a safer route, but instead they stayed in his corner as he fought for a roster spot. Profiles of the family describe how Haneef and Cassondra believed he would make it if he fully committed, and that once he did, he turned that belief into reality.
Their influence shows up in the way he approaches the game now. Rashid grew up in a family where training was normal and excuses did not get much traction, something echoed in accounts of how Shaheed grew up who understood sacrifice. That upbringing helps explain why he was willing to grind through the undrafted free agent path with the New Orleans Saints, betting that his speed and work ethic would eventually force teams to notice.
From undrafted to Seahawks All-Pro, with parents still in the picture
Rashid’s leap from overlooked prospect to Seattle headliner has been rapid, but it did not come out of nowhere. He first broke through with the Saints, where his straight-line speed and return skills turned him into a big-play threat. When the Seahawks traded for him in November, they were betting that the same traits would translate in Seattle’s offense, and that bet has already paid off to the point that he is now described as a Seahawks All-Pro WR/KR due for a major payday. That kind of rise, from undrafted to centerpiece, is exactly the sort of long game his parents’ track background prepared him for.
Even as his profile has exploded, Haneef and Cassondra have stayed in their familiar roles as steady voices behind the scenes and loud supporters in the stands. Coverage of the family notes that Haneef and Cassondra, the kind of parents who always believed his speed and focus would eventually turn into a career. That belief has followed him from San Diego to Weber State, then to New Orleans and now to the Pacific Northwest, where he has quickly become one of the most dangerous weapons on the Seattle Seahawks.
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