No prior football experience? No problem for Buffalo Bills

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

For the last four years, the Bills have won the AFC East, and over that time amassed a postseason record of 5-4. But, they lost three agonizingly close playoff games to the Kansas City Chiefs, one of which would’ve sent them to the Super Bowl.

Because they’ve gotten so near, yet still so far, the Bills have decided to perhaps change things up a little this year. Right now, the team has two guys on the roster who have almost zero football experience.

One of these players is offensive tackle Travis Clayton who was taken 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. This is because he grew up in England where — despite the NFL’s push — the sport has yet to catch on as something kids play in the schoolyard. Instead, Clayton played rugby to channel his aggression. And now he’s looking forward to punishing the guy he lines up against.

“I love the physical side of things,” he said, “being an offensive lineman, being able to take your anger out on people legally is great, 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. He does, however, have an Olympic medal. In 2020 at the Summer Games in Tokyo, 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 stellar wrestling career at the University of Minnesota — he finished with an 85-2 record — Steveson was also part of the WWE for a few years. With the Bills, he will be a defensive tackle, and the team surely hopes his grappling ability will come in handy during games.

“I have been fortunate to compete at the highest level of competition in my sport but am looking forward to the challenge of seeing how my wrestling skills may 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 it used to be. Perhaps thinking outside the pocket by bringing in guys like Clayton and Steveson will finally get them over the top.