Buffalo Bills defensive tackle and former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson saw his NFL career get put on pause for the time being on Tuesday, as he was waived by the organization.
Steveson, who earned his gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics in wrestling, was brought in as a project player for the Bills organization this offseason.
Steveson came in with no football experience, largely relying on the sheer athleticism that comes with being an Olympic-level athlete.
However, at the end of the day, it was always going to be an uphill battle for someone with such little experience in the sport to make it onto any NFL roster.
Steveson played in all three preseason games at defensive tackle for the Bills, recording three tackles and a pair of quarterback hits. But at the end of the day, his performance simply wasn’t enough for the Bills to take a chance on Steveson for the upcoming 2024-25 NFL season.
On Tuesday ahead of the mandatory cuts down to a 53-man roster, the Bills made the decision most expected, waiving Steveson on the final day of cuts.
The Bills made the following roster moves ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cdi5LBsXZH
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) August 27, 2024
At just 24 years of age, this may not be the end of the road for Steveson at the NFL level. With his athleticism and some more time of training, potentially on an NFL practice squad, he could someday find his way onto an NFL 53-man roster.
But for the time being, Steveson will need to find another NFL team to potentially take a chance on him moving forward.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.