Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis for a free agent visit on Wednesday.
Such visits are important for a player like Davis, who was released by the Jaguars earlier this offseason with a failed physical designation, to be able to prove to the team in the flesh that he’s healthy enough to make an impact.
It’s also a chance for the team to get to know the player’s personality and see if he’s a fit. But if the Steelers just wanted to know about Davis’ personality, they didn’t have to go through all the expense of flying him to Pittsburgh.
Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin could have just taken a walk through the Steelers’ locker room, where one of Davis’ best friends has been working: new Pittsburgh running back Kenneth Gainwell.
Gainwell and Davis are co-owners of a training facility in Winter Park, Florida — near Davis’ hometown of Sanford and his alma mater, UCF. They’ve worked together on Gainwell’s youth football camp in Yazoo, Mississippi, and Davis was even a part of Gainwell’s wedding this offseason.
“That’s like my brother,” Gainwell said on Tuesday after practice at Steelers OTAs. “I can’t wait to see him. I ain’t seen him in a minute since we’ve been at our gym, but I can’t wait to see him [Wednesday], but it’ll be amazing to be here.”
They started their current offseason venture in 2023, where they train alongside several other NFL players at The Draft Academy in Florida.
“We both live there in the off season, and it’s a great facility, got everything that you need, cryo, cold tub, hot tub, hyperbaric, sauna, gym,” Gainwell said. “So I mean, we do a lot of that, we fish together, we do a lot of things together, you know?”
The one thing they haven’t done is play together. Gainwell said not only would he love that selfishly, he thinks Davis can really help the Steelers.
“Everybody kinda know what type of player he is,” Gainwell said. “We’ve seen him with Buffalo against Kansas City, four touchdowns in one game. The type of attitude he brings towards the game, and I’d say, man, he’s just a baller, he’s a player to the game just like I am, and he feeds off of energy, so the energy’s high, and he ready to ball, he sees the team winning — that’s the type of guy we need in the building.”
The Steelers brass likely won’t just take Gainwell’s name for it, but it’s clear that Davis has at least one loud voice advocating for his signing in the building.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers RB Makes Strong Sales Pitch for Close Friend Gabe Davis: ‘That’s The Type of Guy We Need’
