Rees-Zammit plays for the Super Bowl champions
Kansas City Chiefs boss Andy Reid has given fans an update on Louis Rees-Zammit’s NFL career, saying he has the right mindset for the sport.
Former Wales international Rees-Zammit announced before the 2024 Six Nations he would leave rugby to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. He started in the NFL’s International Pathway program and drew interest from a number of NFL teams. He visited a few before choosing the Super Bowl champions.
Read more: Rees-Zammit pursues NFL
Reid said of Rees-Zammit: “Yeah, so he was introduced to this when he was young when his dad played for six years in the European league. “He’s somewhat familiar with the sport and has had success in rugby. And there are some similarities there as a contact sport, and he’s had the ball and does those things and runs with the ball.
“We’ll start him off at the running back position and get him to feel comfortable with that. Going forward here, he’s had an opportunity to also go down there to Dallas and work with Pat (Patrick Mahomes), and so again, he’ll get used to some of these calls through our Zooms and the plays, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.”
He was also asked about if Rees-Zammit would slot right into the team.
“Dave (Toub) will have an opportunity to have him on special teams and see where that goes,” Reid said. “That’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been wired to playing competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s sitting there 23; he’s had a pretty good career, with that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset to play at the professional level.”
A change in the kick-off formation for the upcoming season has attracted more rugby players to the sport. Reid was also probed on whether that would be Rees-Zammit’s starting role.
“Potentially, they’re all out there working on returns,” said Reid, who left that decision to special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “So before and during practice, we’ll just see what his feel is and where that goes.”
The NFL season begins again in September.
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