Wrestling - Olympics: Day 14Gable Steveson will play in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills

Gable Steveson will be an NFL player soon, but it is not without controversy. And already, one veteran is very vocal about his opposition to the move.

On May 31, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Buffalo Bills had signed the 2020 Olympics freestyle wrestling gold medalist for three years. He will play defensive lineman, adding depth to a corps that includes Ed Oliver and Gregory Rousseau.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster could not hide his disgust at the move when speaking on 104.5 The Zone’s RKW Show last week. He pointed out Steveson’s controversial 2019 absolution for sexual misconduct charges:

“Hate it. Hate every bit of this. No, you were pro in a different sport. Hate it. And I ain’t mad at him. Just call me a hater because I hate this. You can’t just show up to go practice and think that you can do this.” [1:47:08]

Gable Steveson backed by Von Miller as he begins NFL journey

If there is one person who has Gable Steveson’s back throughout his journey to the NFL, it is Von Miller. Talking to reporters during practice recently, he said that upon arriving at the practice facilities, the former wrestler took steps to ingratiate himself with the Bills’ culture:

“His locker is right next to mine, and right when we signed him, he texted me like, ‘I’m going to be on your hip, my locker is right next to yours’. I told him, ‘Alright, it’s cool’.

“But it didn’t really hit me until we’re in there talking to him and he’s just now playing football, learning some of the stuff that we did when we were kids. He has to be on an accelerated learning path, which he’s capable of doing.”

As it turned out, the former wrestler did not take long before putting on the cleats for the first time. Judging by his veteran teammate’s words, he has tremendous upside:

“When it comes to an athletic standpoint, physical standpoint, he’s got it all. When he came in yesterday, I had to try him a little bit, try to grapple him a little bit, and he was quick, and he grabbed me, and I see it, I feel it. So, he’s definitely got all the athletic ability in the world.”

Steveson will don 61, the only defensive lineman with a jersey number outside the 50s and 90s range.

Was this article helpful?