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Louis Rees-Zammit makes his NFL debut for the Kansas City Chiefs

By Finn Morton
Louis Rees-Zammit made a low key impact on debut for the Chiefs. Credit: Sky Sports

Louis Rees-Zammit reached a significant career milestone over the weekend with the former Wales rugby winger making his NFL preseason debut for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Rees-Zammit signed a three-year deal with the Chiefs in March after making a headline-grabbing code-switch away from rugby union. The 23-year-old has since shown signs of promise during training sessions with the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.

The former British and Irish Lions outside back has had to wait a fair while to get his first taste of a competitive match but that opportunity finally came on Saturday against the Jacksonville Jaguares at EverBank Stadium.

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Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawreance, Carson Wentz and Mac Jones were among the big name players getting some snaps in this preseason hit-out, but there’s also plenty of interest in how one former rugby star would fare wearing a helmet and pads.

Rees-Zammit played a bit of running back, kick returner, kicker and as part of the special teams unit on punt returns. The Welshman finished a fairly quiet night with one rushing yard from two carries, three receiving yards from one catch, and a tackle as well.

Incredibly, the No.9-wearing Rees-Zammit was also called upon to take a kick-off for the Chiefs during the third-quarter.

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“It was a great first experience. I loved it, I loved getting the snaps that I did, on special teams as well which was great,” Rees-Zammit told The Irish NFL Show.

“I’ve just got to look back on this, review it and see how I can get better.

“I got a little kick-off – that was great. Being able to play special teams is amazing, to exploit different skills.

“I’m happy and I’m going to see how I can get better and take that on to the next game.”

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Some NFL fans have been quick to criticise Rees-Zammit after the 13-26 loss to the Jaguares, with one X (formerly Twitter) user claiming the former rugby star won’t make the Chiefs’ final 53 man roster for the upcoming regular season.

One fan on social media described Rees-Zammit as “slow” while another was a bit more critical by expressing the opinion that he “looks stiff with the ball in his hands.” Rees-Zammit was also labelled “the least elusive back I’ve ever seen.”

But for all the negative feedback the Welshman has received, there’s no doubt that an exciting new chapter in Rees-Zammit’s sporting career is being written. That’s game one done and he was all smiles in the changerooms after the American football contest.

“The atmosphere was great,” Rees-Zammit said.

“It’s pretty electric in this stadium and there were a load of Chiefs fans which helped massively. Great game and looking forward to the next one.”

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Comments

2 Comments
M
MattJH 27 days ago

looking forward to his long awaited return to Welsh rugby and hearing all about him having “no regrets at chasing my dream”.

L
LY 30 days ago

Bottom of depth chart at running back, wide receiver, & special teams. While I admire his courage in attempting a lifelong passion, the he fairy is rapidly reacing its conclusion.

D
DP 29 days ago

He knows he can always walk back in to the Welsh National squad. Wish him well either way.

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johnz 1 hour ago
The All Blacks' backline is to blame for Robertson's unflattering record

Some good points in this article, however, tactically the ABs were very good in the 1st test and the backline looked as good as it has for a very long time.


In saying that, Hamish makes a few valid points. The backline was poor in the second matchup, both tactically and from a selection standpoint.


Razor gave himself a real home goal by completely changing the back three. In the first test they were effective as a unit, with each complimenting each other well. Until the meltdown. Jordan and Clarke appear to be our best wing combination by a long shot, with different but lethal attacking skills giving us more options on the offensive.


Obviously Clarke was unavailable, but a smarter move would have been to shift Reiko out one, and leave the other spots untouched.


To change all three was a disastrous move. Reece and Tale'a have shown already this season they are a poor combo. Reece has been completely underwhelming in particular at this level for a long time, and Tale'a seems a shadow of the fine winger he was for a couple of seasons. Add to that, both have a bit too much sameness about them.


As much as I'd love to see Jordan carve it up from 15, the reality is it seems far too easy to nullify his attacking influence by tying him up at the back. Unfortunately for Jordan, he is arguably our best 14 by quite a distance, and can exert his influence far more easily from there. His try scoring record attests to that. So perhaps he should stay there.


For now Barrett remains the best available choice at 15, despite his flaws. I worry he has rediscovered his penchant for attempting a miracle chip kick with every touch. He was looking sharp for a few games without that nonsense. Also as a supposed leader, he was notable by the absence of his leadership at the death in the last two games. Clearly depth needs to be built in the 15 Jersey, I don't see BB being the answer in 2027.


Hamish has a point regarding Jordie and Ioane, they are both run first types of players. Jordie is a frustrating case - on the one hand he was our best back on the field; he's competitive, aggressive, tackles well, kicks, and takes the ball up hard. The type of player a coach loves. But he is such a blunt object. He's slow, has no step and doesn't feed his outsides much. Mind you, if he had a better distributor outside him, perhaps things would look much better as a combo.


Hopefully Razor learns from his little experiment last weekend.

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