DeShawn Shead
DeShawn Anthony Shead is an American former professional football cornerback and coach who is the assistant defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012, and became a member of the Legion of Boom. He also won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks over the Denver Broncos. Shead spent the 2018 season with the Detroit Lions, before re-signing with the Seahawks in 2019.
Early life
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 at Highland, and still holds the school pole vault record.College career
Shead played college football at Portland State; he redshirted 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 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 (first stint)
On April 29, 2012, 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, Shead was promoted to the active roster from the practice squad, and participated in Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014, as the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43–8.After Seattle's loss in Super Bowl XLIX 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 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 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, 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.