DeShawn Anthony Shead (born June 28, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 coach who is the assistant defensive backs coach for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He signed with the Seahawks as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, 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 2013 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2013 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks to ...

with the Seahawks over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. Shead spent the 2018 season with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, before re-signing with the Seahawks in 2019.

Early life

Born and raised in

Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the Antelope Valley of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On August 24, 1962 ...

, 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 (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

record.

College career

Shead played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Portland State; 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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, 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 is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

as a junior and was on the first-team as a senior in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. He also competed in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

on the Vikings track team.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks (first stint)

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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, 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 champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 NFL season, 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2014 New England Patriots season, New Eng ...

in February 2015, cornerback Byron Maxwell 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 still recovering from injuries, Shead was inserted as the second cornerback against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, picking off quarterback Drew Stanton 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 The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He re-signed with the Seahawks on March 17,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, and was placed on the physically unable to perform 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

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 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, but was released four days later.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

Seattle Seahawks

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

Miami Dolphins

On February 13, 2024, Shead was hired by the

as assistant defensive backs coach.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins coaching bio

Portland State Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shead, DeShawn 1989 births Living people American football cornerbacks Detroit Lions players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Palmdale, California Highland High School (Palmdale, California) alumni Portland State Vikings football players Seattle Seahawks coaches Seattle Seahawks players Coaches of American football from California Miami Dolphins coaches