Report: Gophers wrestling star Gable Steveson signs with Buffalo Bills

Steveson will reportedly attempt to make it as a defensive lineman.

Gable Steveson worked out for the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. / Gable Steveson, Instagram

Gable Steveson, just 16 days after visiting Orchard Park in Buffalo, New York for a workout, has signed with the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Bills have beaten every other team to the punch, including the Miami Dolphins, who hosted Steveson for a workout, and now they have one of the greatest wrestlers of all time serving as a potential diamond in the rough and a certain high-end draw for fans who attend training camp this summer.

Schefter is reporting that Lesnar is listed at 6-foot-1, 275 pounds and will attempt to make it as a defensive lineman.

The 6-foot-1, 275-pound Gable Steveson is expected to play defensive line, something he hasn’t done before during his athletic career. In fact, the first time Steveson ever put on a pair of cleats was at a recent workout for the Bills. https://t.co/1MP9siJKOI

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 31, 2024

Ryan Talbot, who covers the Bills for New York Upstate, reported that the Bills expressed interested in Steveson in 2021, so his 2024 visit and subsequent signing shouldn't come off as a complete surprise.

Steveson has very little football in his background. He was a nationally renowned wrestler at Apple Valley High School in the Twin Cities before winning three Big Ten heavyweight championships, two NCAA national championships and then dominating en route to the gold medal at the Toyko Olympics in 2021.

Still only 23 years old, Steveson has an opportunity to use his elite athleticism and strength to make football his career. It's a similar path that former Gophers heavyweight Brock Lesnar took when he tried out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, though Lesnar was already a household name in the WWE and 27 years old when he attempted to make it in the NFL.