Former Olympic wrestler and current Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Gable Stevenson received praise from eight-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Von Miller.
“Athletically, physically, he's got it all,” Miller told Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. “When he came in yesterday, I had to wrestle him a little bit. He got a hold of me quick. I saw it and I felt it. So he's got the best athleticism in the world, for sure.”
Stevenson signed with the Bills on May 31 after being released from his WWE contract. He won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion during his collegiate career.
Stephenson will have a tougher road to making Buffalo's regular-season roster because he has never played on the defensive line in his career, and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 24-year-old laced up cleats for the first time in his life during a recent workout with the Bills.
At 6-foot-1, he's on the small side compared to his fellow NFL defensive linemen.
Still, it's a positive sign that Miller appears to be mentoring Stevenson, as the former Super Bowl MVP revealed that Stevenson contacted him shortly after he signed with the team.
“His locker is right next to mine and he texted me right after we signed him and said, 'I'm right next to you, my locker is right next to yours,' and I was like, 'OK, OK,' but it wasn't until we talked to him in the locker room and saw him playing football now and learning some of the things we did as kids that it really clicked,” Miller said through Smith.
“He'll need to go on an accelerated learning path, but he can do it,” he added.
Even if Stevenson doesn't end up making Buffalo's 53-man roster, he could remain on the practice squad if he has a strong performance in training camp.
