It was after midnight early Wednesday when Steelers rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster got the word he was waiting for.
"(Steelers team security manager Jack Kearney) called me 1 a.m. saying, 'We found your bike,'" Smith-Schuster said after practice Wednesday. "And I was like, 'Are you serious?'"
Word made it to the public a few hours later.
And so, the Steelers' Bike-Gate 2017 ended.
"I didn't think it was gonna be that serious," Smith-Schuster said of the media coverage of his stolen bike. "People tell me it was on the news, and people were out trying to find the bike. That's when I knew, 'Dang, this is serious.'"
[embed width="350" height="450"] https://twitter.com/TeamJuJu/status/923222691326312448 [/embed]
The youngest player in the NFL, the 20-year-old Smith-Schuster coincidentally got his learner's permit for a driver's license Tuesday – the same day that a bicycle he said he spent $800 at REI for wasn't where he left it.
"First thing I thought was, 'I'm gonna be late for this rookie meeting. I'm gonna get fined!'" Smith-Schuster said. "And I texted my teammates, and (rookie cornerback) Brian Allen was able to pick me up."
Smith-Schuster said the bike was locked ("I'm not gonna put my $800 bike not locked up on the South Side"), and that – now that the bike has been found – he no longer is intending to file a police report.
Smith-Schuster's bike – which now has its own Twitter and Instagram accounts – was found at Maxwell's Pub on Brownsville Road. The man who reported it said he purchased it for $200.
"I was like, 'How they gonna disrespect my bike like that?'" Smith-Schuster said, smiling. "Eight-hundred-dollar bike, and it sold for $200."
Smith-Schuster was grateful for the bike's return, publicly thanking all who looked for it. But he stopped short at offering a reward to the man who turned it back in.
"Honestly, if you think about it, could he have stolen the bike and is now saying he bought it off somebody?" Smith-Schuster said. "I mean, there is a lot of questions. But obviously, when it comes down to it, I don't mind paying back $200."
Smith-Schuster said he would add a tracking device to his bike.
"Honestly, it was my only mode of transportation," he said. "I think it was God trying to tell me, 'You need to get your license now.'"
Smith-Schuster said his driving test is scheduled for Tuesday, two days after the Steelers' next game Sunday at the Detroit Lions. Smith-Schuster could be in store for a bigger role in that game in light of Martavis Bryant sitting out the game because of team-imposed discipline resulting from social media posts this week.
Smith-Schuster remains in the NFL's concussion protocol but practiced fully Wednesday and is expected to play Sunday barring any setbacks.
