On Monday, traditional NFL newsbreakers shared word that offensive lineman Rashaad Coward would leave the Chicago Bears and sign a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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
But if you’re an avid Call of Duty gamer or spend a lot of time on Reddit, you may have already known the deal was coming. As Yahoo laid out, a Reddit user named ProbationOfficer2035 posted on Sunday about a “possible trade” he overhead about while playing Warzone that involved an NFL player who was in Chicago but was excited to join the Steelers. The way they found out? They were gaming with the player’s wife.
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.
The actual deal, of course, was a free agency signing and not a trade. But the evidence here certainly lines up, and as Yahoo noted, one of Coward’s agents actually noted that his wife is a good follow when it comes to gaming stuff, which seems like a strong hint that she did, indeed, accidentally help break the news.
Can confirm that @OohTally is an entertaining gamer and y'all should follow her on all platforms @RashaadCoward
— Brian Adkins (@briancpadkins) March 28, 2021
You truly never know who you’re playing with online. So if you’d like to be the next NFL newsbreaker, you may want to start cultivating your sources on the virtual battlefield.
[via Yahoo Sports]