Getty Former Bears OL Rashaad Coward.
Former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Rashaad Coward announced his new deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on social media this week, but a savvy football fan on Reddit technically beat him to it.
Coward, who signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2017, spent three seasons in Chicago, converting from defensive to offensive lineman after Matt Nagy arrived as head coach in 2018. He wound up starting 15 games for the Bears over the last two seasons, getting his chance when he filled in for an injured Kyle Long at guard early in the 2019 season.
After the Bears chose not to bring him back for the 2021 season, the veteran offensive lineman landed in the Steel City — which Reddit users found out about and leaked before any top NFL insiders did.
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News Of Coward’s New Team Was Leaked Because His Wife is a Gamer…
A Reddit user named ProbationOfficer2035 first broke the news of a presumed Bears player signing in Pittsburgh over the weekend after overhearing what sounded like an NFL deal going down in the background while playing a game of Call of Duty: Warzone with what turned out to be Coward’s wife. The savvy Reddit user posted the following on an NFL-related thread about what they overheard:
Very random, as I’m a packers fan. I was just playing warzone with randoms, ended up with a female teammate. She had her mic on and I could hear her husband talking in the background about a ‘deal’. Then something was said about he would love to play in Pittsburgh. I tried to ask the girl for info but she felt a bit awkward when I asked if she could tell me who her husband was. All she would say was that it was her husband being loud in the background and that he’s an NFL player. Anyways, he currently plays in Chicago (I did look up her gamertag which is linked to her twitch/IG and she is wearing bears gear in some pics). The last thing I heard was that if no one else calls within the next 30 minutes he’s gonna sign a 3 year deal in order to facilitate the trade because he would love to be in Pittsburgh. I know this is big speculation, but I heard what I heard.
As it turns out, this is pretty much exactly what transpired.
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Twitter Reacts to Way News About Coward Broke
Coward wrote the following on Instagram after his signing with Pittsburgh was made official: “Steelers, Thank you for believing in me enough to give me this opportunity. I’m so blessed, thankful, and highly motivated.”
Upon learning that a Reddit user had actually scooped several top NFL insiders, Twitter, naturally, had a few reactions:
Last night, a Reddit user reported a “possible trade coming between the Bears & Steelers” after overhearing a Bears player discussing it while playing Call of Duty: Warzone.
Today, Bears RFA Rashaad Coward signed with the Steelers.
Only in 2021 😂
@kfishbain @RapSheet Would point out that a reddit user over heard that a trade was happening this weekend. They over heard a conversation during a COD warzone match with Cowards wife/Significant other. So actually Rap wasn’t first.
Coward’s agent, Brian Adkins, also Tweeted this in a tongue-in-cheek reference to Coward’s wife, who is seemingly a hardcore and very credible gamer in her own right:
Can confirm that @OohTally is an entertaining gamer and y’all should follow her on all platforms @RashaadCoward
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