Gable Steveson’s career change from super heavyweight wrestler to defensive lineman follows a failed bid with World Wrestling Entertainment.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Gable Steveson thought he achieved the impossible with his stunning last-second takedown of three-time world wrestling champion Geno Petriashvili to win gold at the Tokyo Games.
Three years later, the 24-year-old Steveson is raising the degree of difficulty in approaching his next challenge: Pro football. Having never played a down of football in his life, he is the rawest of NFL rookies in opening his second week of practice with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday.
It’s a passion project and a personal challenge for Steveson to see how far he can stretch his athletic abilities. Or, as the two-time national collegiate wrestling champion from Minnesota put it following practice, “Do the impossible.”
“This is definitely a unicorn situation,” Steveson said. “For me to finally push that narrative of you can come from one sport to another: that’s an incredible thing. And …