As a football nerd obsessed with NFL news, I’ve got all the news breakers on Twitter set up with push notifications.
However, when I saw this …
Former #Bears OL Rashaad Coward, an RFA who was not tendered, is expected to sign with the #Steelers, source said. A former DL who worked his way into the starting lineup on offense, Coward now lands in Pittsburgh.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 29, 2021
… I was reminded of something I saw earlier:
Did former #Bears offensive lineman Rashaad Coward's next destination get leaked during a "Call of Duty" game? Perhaps.https://t.co/EQRcJh2nNa via @rdcsports pic.twitter.com/SlduxfOQzP
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) March 29, 2021
Here’s the gist: A Reddit user said they overheard details of a potential sign-and-trade in the background on a hot mic from their teammate while playing Call of Duty. That Call of Duty player’s teammate happened to be the wife of (soon-to-be former) Bears offensive lineman Rashaad Coward. And the deal, while perhaps not of the splashy sign-and-trade variety, is one that will seemingly send Coward to Pittsburgh.
Coward, 26, has played 30 games over four seasons with the Bears. The last 29 have come as an offensive lineman. And what a journey it has been.
Chicago signed Coward as an undrafted free agent nose tackle in 2017, converted him to an offensive tackle in April 2018, gave him an early shot at replacing Kyle Long in 2019, then started him at guard in 15 games over the last two seasons. The concept of turning a nose tackle into an offensive lineman was fun to follow, but ultimately unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the results weren’t all that pretty. Hence, the team sent Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars to the starting lineup, shifted Germain Ifedi outside to tackle, and moved Coward out of the starting lineup after the bye week. Nevertheless, the story was an intriguing one to cover.
So, now, Coward heads to the Steelers, a franchise that will now turn its efforts into getting the most out of his skills.