Olympic athlete Gable Steveson isn’t taking his opportunity with the Buffalo Bills lightly. Steveson has already latched onto the perfect mentor to begin his NFL career.
The Bills made headlines last week when they signed Steveson to a 3-year standard rookie deal. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist is one of NCAA history’s most decorated college wrestlers but has no prior experience playing football.
Bills veteran Von Miller told reporters earlier this week that Steveson immediately texted him once the signing was official.
“[Steveson’s] locker is right next to mine,” said Miller, via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. “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 said, ‘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.”
Miller added that he had held a grappling session with Steveson once the 23-year-old arrived at the Bills’ facility and instantly felt the wrestler’s supreme athletic ability.
Miller is a 3-time All-Pro linebacker and has won a Super Bowl ring. Though Miller has disappointed with the Bills since signing with the team in 2022, few players are more capable than Miller of helping Steveson properly adjust to the sport.
Steveson was released by the WWE last month and immediately drew interest from several NFL teams. He reportedly chose the Bills because he believes the team is best capable of developing him into a serviceable NFL defensive lineman.
