The Seattle Seahawks signed a familiar face in DeShawn Shead, the team announced Saturday.

The defensive back and former Portland State Vikings’ star began his NFL career in Seattle and was the team’s starting cornerback during the 2016 season.

“It feels good, it feels good to be back,” Shead told reporters Sunday. “I was telling everybody I’m back home, I’m back home.”

Shead, 30, signed with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He started out as a special teams player, but eventually worked his way into the starting right cornerback position in 2016, where he started in 15 games. Shead was potentially on the cusp of a lucrative contract, but he suffered a torn ACL during the Seahawks’ loss to Atlanta in a playoff game in January, causing him to miss all but two games during the 2017 regular season and he was released by the Seahawks in March 2018.

Shead said he surgically repaired knee didn’t start feeling comfortable until late in the 2018 season. Shead signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Detroit Lions in 2018, but was surprisingly cut on Sept. 1. The Lions re-signed him on Sept. 19 and he appeared in 12 games.

Following an offseason of training instead of rehab, Shead says the knee is healthy and he is feeling like he did before the injury.

“Starting at the beginning of last season my knee was still kind of, I would get kind of sore after practice, or you could see the limitations during the game. It wasn’t until later on in the season last year to where I started to feel normal again,” Shead told reporters Sunday. “I do feel all the way back, I don’t think twice about my knee, my breaks, in and out of breaks, I’m more elusive, my speed is back. So, now it’s just putting it back on the field.”

Shead said he had a workout with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, but the Seahawks said they were interested in a workout and he was in Seattle on Saturday and signed a contract.

Shead, who spent his first six seasons with the Seahawks, is very familiar with the Seahawks defense and has played at nearly every position in the secondary. The Seahawks secondary is a bit unsettled, with just safety Bradley McDougald locked in as a starter. The Seahawks had Shead at safety during practice on Sunday.

“I started my career at safety so anytime anybody asks what position I play, I tell them DB (defensive back),” Shead told reporters Sunday. "I play DB, I started games at free safety, strong safety, nickel, and corner. Whatever way I can get on the field and help this team, that’s what I’m here for.”

-- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold