Bills welcome visiting Olympic gold medalist and former WWE signee

Gable Steveson could soon bring his Olympic gold medal to Western New York.

Ryan Talbot of NYUpstate reports that the 23-year-old amateur wrestler was in Orchard Park to visit the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday; The 6-foot-1, 265-pound athlete won an Olympic gold medal in men’s freestyle wrestling at the Tokyo 2020 Games (which took place in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

One of the most decorated and dominant college wrestlers of all time, Steveson finished his four-year stay at the University of Minnesota with an 85-2 record, going undefeated in his final three seasons of struggle. He finished first in his weight class at the NCAA Division 1 National Wrestling Championships during his junior and senior years.

Steveson was pursued by several organizations in various fields after the conclusion of his college career, with the Bills reportedly reaching out to him in 2021. He signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that summer, performing in their developmental territory NXT for some years. before being quietly released earlier this year.

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Buffalo’s interest makes sense given the team’s reported interest and head coach Sean McDermott’s amateur wrestling experience; A back-to-back national champion in high school prep wrestling, the secondary boss has often spoken of his adoration of the sport and the qualities it engenders in his competitors, clearly having a penchant for targeting players with amateur wrestling experience.

Steveson has no known prior football experience; given his build, size, and (obvious) strength, he probably projects as a defensive lineman, more specifically as a tackle.

Steveson was arrested in 2019 for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman. He never faced criminal charges due to “insufficient evidence,” according to the AP.