Maybe you have heard of Dwayne Johnson or Brock Lesnar. Both entertained wrestling fans within the ring while also having made appearances on the NFL gridiron. Is Minnesota Gophers legend Gable Steveson about to follow in their paths?
The 23-year-old wrestler spent the past three years with the WWE, before they cut him loose earlier this month. Shortly after he and the WWE split, his agent made it clear that Gabe had multiple options, including going back to school for his final year of eligibility and multiple calls from NFL teams.
Gable Steveson visits Miami Dolphins
Then on Tuesday, Steveson posted a photo of him at the Miami Dolphins facilities. They had voluntary offseason team activities today. It doesn’t appear as though he took part in any drills or official team Although he didn’t play for P.J. Fleck at the University of Minnesota, it’s hard to ignore how his imposing size and ability to move giant objects could make a difference on the football field.
A former Olympian, Steveson set a multitude of Big Ten records while wrestling for the Minnesota Gophers, and finished with an 85-2 career record as an amateur. In every season but his Freshman year (in which he was ranked third) he was ranked as the top wrestler in the nation.
Miami isn’t the first team Gable has visited. He was invited for a visit with the Buffalo Bills last week, too. Of course there would be a relative learning curve given his lack of experience in the sport, but both size and athleticism work to his advantage.
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The Dolphins are the second team Steveson has been publicly connected to, but others could emerge in the weeks ahead. And in classic Gable Steveson fashion, this could be nothing more than a photo shoot to spur rumors.
NFL teams are currently participating in voluntary workouts, but they will kick off mandatory minicamp in the next couple weeks, before training camps open later this summer. If someone is going to put a player like Steveson on their 53-man active roster, or more likely their practice squad, getting him involved sooner rather than later seems like a good plan of action.
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Football is very clearly not wrestling, but possessing impressive hand skills from a combat sport, Steveson could logically be expected to compete on the line. His burst may work as a pass rusher, and listed at 6’1” 265 lbs, he should have room to remain something of a moldable asset for an interested organization.
With neither Lesnar or Johnson making it into a regular season NFL game, Steveson would be attempting to do something of the unthinkable, but his story is yet to be entirely written.
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