The Buffalo Bills Are Signing A Former Gold Medalist

The interesting moves continue for the Buffalo Bills this offseason as the announcement has been made that they're going to sign a former Olympic gold medalist.

First, they made a huge number of cuts to get themselves under the cap.  Then they traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.  Then they completely traded out of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Today, they continued on the "wow, I didn't expect them to do that" trend by signing a former Olympic gold medalist who has never played a single down of football.

Who is the gold medalist that the Bills are signing?

His name is Gable Steveson and his entire athletic career, he's been a wrestler.  He's a 6' 1", 275 pound wrestler who hasn't ever put on cleats before joining the Bills at a recent rookie mini-camp.

However, he was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the NCAA.

If he hasn't ever played football, why are the Bills signing him?

It's going to be a valid question from anyone who sees this story.  Why sign the guy if he has no football experience?

The answer is that he still has to make the team.  They're expecting him to be a depth player if he can make it to rotate with players like DaQuan Jones and Ed Oliver.  They're signing him, but for now all it is is an extended tryout.  If he doesn't pick it up in time, no big deal, they cut him and move on.  But if he is half as much of a football player as he was a wrestler, they'll look like geniuses.

This is the second player on the roster to have never played a down

Steveson will be the second player on the Bills to have signed with the Bills this season after never playing a down in football.  They also have a former rugby player named Travis Clayton who came to them through the International Player Pathway.