Chiefs encouraged Louis Rees-Zammit to explore other opportunities after cut, GM says
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach says the team encouraged Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit to pursue other options after the team cut him earlier this week.
Officially, on Wednesday, Rees-Zammit signed with Jacksonville’s practice squad. He is listed on the Jaguars’ roster as a receiver after playing running back for the Chiefs the last few months.
Veach said Thursday that the Chiefs “kept it open” on Rees-Zammit returning to KC’s practice squad before saying the team “wanted the kid to really look at maybe some different opportunities as well.”
“Phenomenal kid, phenomenal worker,” Veach said of Rees-Zammit. “And again, just thinking back on the tremendous amount of progress he made in a short amount of time, I think he’ll continue to grow and develop. And I think he found a really good spot there in Jacksonville.”
For logical reasons, Rees-Zammit is likely a better fit on Jacksonville’s practice squad. For one, he counts as a practice squad exemption thanks to the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program, meaning he does not count against the team’s 16-man limit there.
The Chiefs already had that IPP spot reserved by offensive tackle Chu Godrick. To stick with the Chiefs, then, Rees-Zammit would have had to count as one of the team’s initial 16.
There’s also this: Jacksonville will play two games in London this year, which could garner immense fanfare in Europe if Rees-Zammit is elevated to the active roster for either of those games.
One key for the 23-year-old Rees-Zammit will be finding his best primary NFL position, whether that is running back or as a big slot receiver.
He also could project someday to be a special teams ace.
“I think he does have some potential as a returner. I’m not so sure he couldn’t be a kicker,” Veach said. “I mean, he had an outstanding leg, and with this new rule, he can do some different things, provide some versatility.”
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Rees-Zammit has an interesting backstory after already succeeding professionally in rugby. He grew up watching NFL games overseas after his father, Joe, played American football on a European team.
Rees-Zammit joined the NFL’s IPP program earlier this year to prepare for his new sport, then signed a contract with the Chiefs in March.
A transition of this magnitude was still overwhelming at times. Rees-Zammit previously spoke about rugby’s “plays” being set pieces, meaning his previous professional team might have 20-30 it prepared for each game.
In American football, basically all offensive movement is a scripted play, meaning the calls he had to learn were in the hundreds.
The Chiefs had hoped Rees-Zammit’s learning process would move quickly. If he could pick up pass protection early on, the thought was he might work himself into Jerick McKinnon’s third-down role from last season, providing a pass-catching threat out of the backfield who could contribute on special teams.
In the end, that development didn’t come quickly enough. The Chiefs waived Rees-Zammit earlier this week, then signed veteran Samaje Perine to take on that third-down back role.
Veach said it was still “pretty remarkable” how far Rees-Zammit had come after not previously playing high school, college or pro football. In a few months with the Chiefs, the running back changed how he held the football and also his running style, adapting to what his new sport will demand from him.
“We were thinking about it going through camp. Imagine not having any sort of foundational background, just to be thrown in and be doing one-on-one pass pros with a Drue Tranquill or Nick Bolton,” Veach said. “I mean, that’s pretty incredible.”
