Former Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit joins Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the team’s quest to three-peat in the Super Bowl

Louis Rees-Zammit entered the NFL through the league's International Player Pathway Program.

Former Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit joins Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the team’s quest to three-peat in the Super Bowl

Louis Rees-Zammit (Images via Imago)

The Kansas City Chiefs keep recruiting players despite having an elite roster on board. Their latest addition comes from a different sport altogether. It appears the team is now diversifying as it has offered former Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit an opportunity to play in the NFL.

Louis Rees-Zammit had revealed at the start of the year that his dream is to play in the NFL and as a result, he walked away from rugby to pursue American football. He made his foray into the league via the International Pathway program, a forum that allows players from different countries to try their luck in the NFL. It is a 10-week training camp after which the players get a chance to sign with NFL teams.

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Jordan Schultz reported that Louis Rees-Zammit will officially sign the contract on Friday. He will join the team for practice at training camp but his biggest challenge will be to make it to the final 53-man roster.

For now, it is a step-by-step process as his first objective is to secure one of the 16 spots available on the team’s practice squad. Luckily for him, the NFL has reserved a special spot on the practice squad of all teams exclusively for players who come from the International Player Pathway Program.

Louis Rees-Zammit, at 23, has plenty of time with him to play in the NFL

So far, around 34 international players have signed with NFL teams through the program and 18 of them have made it to the 53-man roster. Some of the other teams that considered signing Rees-Zammit were the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns, and the Denver Broncos. His age allows him to learn and adapt himself to the rules of the NFL, which is different when compared to rugby.

Louis Rees-Zammit
Louis Rees-Zammit (via Express UK)

There’s a reason players in the NFL wear pads and helmets while those in rugby do not- the physicality. In addition to this, the playbooks are significantly different. It will essentially be similar to learning a new sport from scratch entirely.

The league has just recently changed the kickoff rules which means Rees-Zammit will need to adapt himself to that as well. The new rules will address injury and concussion concerns while ensuring the rate of kickoffs returned witnesses a surge.

This season, only 23% of kickoffs were returned but after the new change, the number is expected to surge to 60% to 90%. Louis Rees-Zammit is a kick return specialist. With these new rules, he has a great shot at proving that his addition to the roster will be of value if he can achieve the same level of success on the special teams unit in the NFL as he did in rugby.

If he makes the practice squad, he would make $216,000 per year. While the odds of seeing him play in an NFL game this season are low, the Chiefs could consider developing him to their advantage and giving him his first start next season.

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