DeShawn Anthony Shead (born June 28, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

and current coach. He is a defensive assistant/assistant defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He signed with the Seahawks as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, and became a member of the Legion of Boom. He also won

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

with the Seahawks over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. Shead spent the 2018 season with the Detroit Lions, before re-signing with the Seahawks in 2019.

Early years

Born and raised in Palmdale, California, Shead attended Highland High School and was a two-time All-Conference and All-CIF Southern Section defensive back. He was named the winner of the 2006 National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete award. He also competed in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

at Highland, and still holds the school

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

record.

College career

Shead played college football at

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

; he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a true freshman in 2007, and was named PSU Most Outstanding Defensive Back for the next four seasons. He was second-team All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

as a junior and was on the first-team as a senior in 2011. He also competed in the decathlon on the Vikings track team.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

On April 29,

, Shead signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. On August 31, he was released, then was signed to the practice squad the following day. On November 27,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Shead was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad, and participated in

in February 2014, as the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43–8. After Seattle's loss in

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

in February 2015, cornerback

Byron Maxwell Byron S. Maxwell (born February 23, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, where he was a member of the Seahawks' defensive group known as the Legion of B ...

left for Philadelphia in free agency, leaving a starting position open opposite All-Pro CB Richard Sherman. The Seahawks signed Cary Williams in the offseason, but he was benched in Week 12 and later released. With Jeremy Lane and

Tharold Simon Tharold Dwight Simon (born March 6, 1991) is a former American football cornerback. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and was a member of the Seahawks' Super Bowl XLVIII championship team. He playe ...

still recovering from injuries, Shead was inserted as the second cornerback against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

in place of Williams, and played well enough to earn the starting job full-time. In Week 17, Shead recorded his first interception against the Arizona Cardinals, picking off quarterback

Drew Stanton Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

in the endzone. He finished the game with an interception, a tackle, and a pass deflection. In the Divisional Round of the 2016 playoffs, Shead suffered a torn ACL in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He re-signed with the Seahawks on March 17,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, and was placed on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list to start the season. He was activated off the PUP list on December 23, 2017. On March 12, 2018, Shead was released by the Seahawks.

Detroit Lions

On March 14, 2018, the Detroit Lions signed Shead to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million, with an additional $3 million in incentives. Despite being projected by many analysts to be one of the team's starting cornerbacks for the 2018 season, Shead did not make the 53-man roster and was released on September 1, 2018. He was re-signed on September 19, 2018. He played in 12 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 29, 2018.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On July 27, 2019, Shead signed with the Seattle Seahawks. He was released on August 31, 2019.

New Orleans Saints

On December 24, 2019, Shead was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, but was released four days later.

Coaching career

Shead was hired by the Seahawks as a defensive assistant / defensive backs coach on March 3, 2021.

References

External links

Portland State bio

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shead, DeShawn 1989 births Living people American football cornerbacks Detroit Lions players New Orleans Saints players People from Palmdale, California Portland State Vikings football players Seattle Seahawks coaches Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California