The Andy Reid verdict on Louis Rees-Zammit's Kansas City Chiefs debut

The online reaction was mixed regarding the American football debut made by Louis Rees-Zammit last Saturday in Jacksonville, but his Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has given a more positive verdict on the former rugby international’s cameo in the 13-26 pre-season loss.

Back in training ahead of next Saturday’s home pre-season fixture versus Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium, Reid was asked for his thoughts on how the 23-year-old ex-Gloucester and Wales rugby player did during his fleeting debut involvement.

“Listen, it was exciting for him to have a chance to get in there and play,” enthused Reid, the maestro who has coached the Chiefs to four SuperBowl title victories in the last five seasons.

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“It’s faster than what he has seen in practice, so from an experience standpoint it was great for him. That was a positive and then just build on it.”

Reid’s judgement, given in a media briefing video uploaded to the Kansas club website, was followed by a social media post on X showing a nine-second training ground clip of Rees-Zammit in action. Titled ‘Can’t catch lightning, but Rees-Lightning can catch’, the NFL apprentice was recorded catching a throw on the run from quarterback Chris Oladokun.

Can't catch lightning, but Rees-Lightning can catch ??@1Chrisoladokun0 x @LouisReesZammit pic.twitter.com/GTqKuXf9fL

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 13, 2024

Regarding his American football debut at the Jaguars, Rees-Zammit posted a collection of pictures from the game in Florida on his Instagram account. Those photos were accompanied by the message: “Time to learn from every moment and get better.”

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A post shared by Louis Rees-Zammit ⚡️ (@lrzammit)