Which position will Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson play for Bills?

The Buffalo Bills have announced where Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will line up for them.

Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota wrestler Gable Steveson celebrates after defeating Arizona State wrestler Cohlton Schultz (not pictured) in the 285 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports / Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Which position are they going to play? is generally not a question asked when a professional football team signs a new player. That’s because professional football teams, generally speaking, sign players who have played football before, giving fans at least a broad idea of where said player will line up for the team.

The Buffalo Bills bucked this trend on Friday afternoon, signing Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson to a standard three-year rookie contract. The 24-year-old, who won gold in men’s freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Tokyo Games, has never played football before; in fact, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the first time he ever laced up a pair of cleats was at his free agent visit with the Bills in mid-May.

The signing was met with a bevy of reactions and questions from the Buffalo faithful, among them, which position is he going to play? The team listed Steveson as a defensive tackle when announcing the signing; he’ll compete for snaps with the likes of Branson Deen and Deshawn Williams for bottom-of-the-depth-chart snaps in preseason.

We’ve signed DT Gable Steveson and released P Matt Haack. #GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/VVhxYEqTGJ

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 31, 2024

It’s the most fitting position for the 6-foot-1, 265-pound athlete, as it will allow him to make use of his obvious strength and stout build; according to Schefter, Steveson opted to sign with the Bills given head coach Sean McDermott’s track record at developing defensive tackles of similar statures (likely referring to dominant Buffalo interior rusher Ed Oliver).

McDermott will likely be quite hands-on with Steveson, as the sideline boss, per Schefter, very much wanted the former Olympian on the roster. A former amateur wrestler himself, the head coach has been outspoken about his passion for the sport in the past, feeling as though the qualities amateur wrestlers possess translate well to the gridiron.

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Steveson will have the opportunity to learn from defensive tackles like DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson, and the aforementioned Oliver throughout the summer. Future Hall of Fame pass rusher Von Miller will likely be a valuable sounding board, as well. That said, he’s still an extreme long-shot to make the roster.

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