Former WWE Superstar's NFL Career Hits a Snag

Steveson was released by the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday.

Nov 26, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; A Buffalo Bills helmet is seen before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Former WWE Superstar and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson was released by the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. The news was first reported by Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.

The #Bills are waiving DL Gable Stevenson, source says. Former wrestler is a developmental prospect so this won’t be the end of the line for him, whether in Buffalo as a member of the practice squad or elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/Q3mLdPZD9X

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 27, 2024

Mass cuts are happening across the NFL today with the league requiring all 32 teams to solidify their 53-man rosters by 4 p.m. ET.

The Bills signed Steveson as an undrafted free agent back on May 31. It was a standard rookie three-year deal at the time, but it was always going to be a long shot for him to make the final Buffalo roster.

Steveson had never played organized football prior to his tryout with the Bills. As Garafolo pointed out, the former Raw Superstar is considered a development project at DT and could very well end up on a team's practice squad. Be it with the Bills or another organization.

Once a highly sought-after recruit, Steveson was released by WWE back at the beginning of May. He made several appearances on WWE programming since signing an NIL deal with the company in 2021, including at WrestleMania 38, but the Wrestling Observer reported that higher-ups felt he "wasn't cutting it".

Steveson's lack of development, coupled with the reported high dollar figure he was making, was what the Observer claimed led to his release from WWE.

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