After graduating, he was chosen in the second round (49th overall) of the 1988 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks.[3] Blades spent his entire 11-year career with the Seahawks, playing for the team from 1988-1998. He signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks prior to the 1999 season, but was cut on June 5, 1999. In 1989 Blades won the Marcus Nalley MVP award. Also that year (1989) he was voted into the pro bowl after having 1,063 receiving yards and 5 TD receptions.
Blades was charged with murder in the second degree for the death of his cousin, Charles Blades Jr. Blades initially pleaded "no contest" but later changed his plea to "not guilty" before the trial. Blades claimed the pistol accidentally discharged a round into his cousin during a struggle. During the trial, the prosecuting attorney and a gun expert staged a mock struggle with a blank filled gun, in which the gun accidentally discharged.
After a jury convicted Blades of manslaughter, the presiding Judge Susan Lebow overturned the verdict 72 hours later, citing the prosecution's failure to provide enough evidence for conviction.[4] The case was appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, and the court upheld his acquittal.[5]
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