Rashaad Coward (born November 6, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

at Old Dominion. He has been a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, and Houston Roughnecks.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Coward signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 9, 2017, and made his regular-season debut in the Week 14 game against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. Although Coward was a

during his rookie year, head coach

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Chicago ...

announced that Coward would be moved to

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

for the 2018 season. He was an exclusive-rights free agent (ERFA) after the year, but returned to the Bears after being tendered a contract. In 2019, Coward started ten games at

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

after

Kyle Long Kyle Howard Long (born December 5, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for seven seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howi ...

suffered a season-ending injury. He became an ERFA for the second time at season's end before re-signing on April 17, 2020.

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

Coward signed a one-year contract with the

on March 30, 2021. He was released on October 9, 2021.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 12, 2021, Coward signed with the

. On October 21, Coward was released by the Jaguars.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On November 23, 2021, Coward was signed to the Steelers practice squad.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 24, 2022, Coward signed a reserve/future contract with the

. On June 2, 2022, he was released by the Falcons.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 2, 2022, Coward signed with the

. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 14, 2022. He was released on September 19. He was re-signed on November 2. He was promoted to the active roster on November 15.

Houston Texans

On August 8, 2023, Coward signed with the

. He was released on August 29, 2023.

Houston Roughnecks

On December 8, 2023, Coward signed with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. The Roughnecks brand was transferred to the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

when the XFL and

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

San Antonio Brahmas

On January 5, 2024, Coward was drafted by the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

during the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

References

External links

Old Dominion Monarchs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coward, Rashaad 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Brooklyn American football defensive tackles American football offensive guards Old Dominion Monarchs football players Chicago Bears players Sheepshead Bay High School alumni Pittsburgh Steelers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Atlanta Falcons players Arizona Cardinals players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Houston Roughnecks players San Antonio Brahmas players