No prior football experience? No problem for the Buffalo Bills

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride” is an adage that can certainly apply to the Buffalo Bills. Although their long and agonizing playoff history has been well-documented (four straight trips to the Super Bowl without winning a single one), the team has recently seemed so close to greatness as well.

Over the past four years, the Bills have won the AFC East and accumulated a 5-4 playoff record. But they lost three agonizingly close playoff games to the Kansas City Chiefs, one of which would have sent them to the Super Bowl.

Because they got so close, but still so far, the Bills decided to maybe change things up a little this year. Right now the team has two guys on the roster who have almost no football experience.

One of those players is offensive tackle Travis Clayton who was selected by the team in the seventh round of the 2024 draft. At 6-foot-7 and 301 pounds, Clayton is a beast of a man, but football is foreign to him. That’s because he grew up in England where, despite the NFL’s efforts, the sport has yet to catch on as a game kids play in the schoolyard. Instead, Clayton played rugby to channel his aggression. And now he can’t wait to punish the guy he’s aligned against.

“I like the physical side of things,” he said. “Being an offensive lineman, being able to take my anger out on people legally is awesome, and I can just use my strength and my abilities.”

Gable Steveson is another new player on the roster who doesn’t have football on his resume. However, he has an Olympic medal. In 2020 at the Tokyo Summer Games, Steveson defeated Geno Petriashvili in the gold medal match to become the youngest freestyle wrestler to win Olympic gold in the super heavyweight division.

In addition to the Olympics and a successful wrestling career at the University of Minnesota – he finished with an 85-2 record – Steveson was also in the WWE for a few years. With the Bills, he will be a defensive tackle, and the team surely hopes his wrestling ability will come in handy during games.

“I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport, but I am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills can translate to football,” Steveson said.

This is a big season for the Bills, as many believe their championship window is still open, but not as wide as before. Maybe coming out of their own pocket by bringing in guys like Clayton and Steveson will finally allow them to gain the upper hand.