Simply put, there aren’t that many enormous athletes in the world that have incredible strength, quickness, and agility on the level of a professional football player. NFL teams will go to great lengths to find them, and 202o Tokyo Olympics Men’s Freestyle Wrestling 125KG champion Gable Steveson is one of those guys.
Steveson was signed to WWE, but after being released last month he was looking for a new career, or possibly a return to collegiate wrestling. The Buffalo Bills brought him in for a workout, and on Friday it was reported that they have signed him to a deal.
“Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist and one of the most dominant college wrestlers in NCAA history, is signing with the Bills, per his agent Carter Chow. Steveson now will try to join Bob Hayes as the only athlete to win a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal,” Adam Schefter reported.
Gable Steveson will play play defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills in what will likely be a long but potentially fruitful transition to football.
Make no mistake, Gable Steveson is an absolute freak. He’s actually undersized right now to play NFL defensive tackle at 6-foot-1, 275lbs. But, every other trait you want is there in spades. If you’re familiar with wrestling, Gable is not the old type of heavyweight who is out there pushing people around at a lumbering pace. Instead, he moves like someone half his size while still having incredible strength. Take a look at some highlights.
His college career was incredible, as he only lost twice in his time at the University of Minnesota, both to Penn State’s Anthony Cassar in the Big Ten Finals and the NCAA Semifinals as a true freshman. He didn’t lose again in college, capturing the national title in both 2021 and 2022, and being robbed of another by COVID.
But, his crowning achievement was his Olympic Gold Medal in Tokyo in 2021. Steveson ran through a loaded bracket at 125KG (275.5lbs). In the Olympic final, he met Geno Petriashvili, the three-time defending world champion out of the Asian country of Georgia. Steveson secured two takedowns in the final ten seconds, including one just before clock hit zero, to shock the world and bring home the gold for the USA.
Since, most of his focus has been on WWE, which ultimately was a failed experiment for him. Considered a can’t-miss prospect by many WWE observers, it just never worked out for him.
But, there is plenty of time for football to work out for him. Friday is actually his 24th birthday, so he’s still pretty young. And, while his football skills are almost certainly very raw, there simply are not that many human beings with his combination of strength, quickness, agility, and flexibility.
Will it work out? Who knows. Former NCAA champion heavyweight wrestler Stephen Neal was a three-time Super Bowl Champion for the Patriots in the early 2000’s after making the transition, proving it can be done. But, it’s going to be really fun to follow Gable Steveson’s NFL career moving forward.
The post Buffalo Bills Sign Olympic Heavyweight Champion Wrestler Gable Steveson Due To Huge Upside appeared first on BroBible.
Buffalo Bills Sign Olympic Heavyweight Champion Wrestler Gable Steveson Due To Huge Upside
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