Admin August 29, 2024
One of the most intriguing stories of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 2024 preseason came to an unceremonious end on Wednesday, as former Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad after being waived by the Chiefs on Tuesday. While it was no surprise that Rees-Zammit didn’t make the initial 53-man roster after playing only a handful of snaps of organized American football, the circumstances of his departure to Jacksonville were murky.
On Thursday, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach unpacked Rees-Zammit’s time with the Chiefs when he was asked if the team sought to bring Rees-Zammit back to KC’s practice squad, or if they encouraged him to pursue other opportunities.
“We kept it open, we wanted the kid to really look at maybe some different opportunities as well,” Veach began. “Pretty remarkable, when you think about a player that doesn’t have any pro American football experience. No middle school, no high school, no big-time college experience. We were kind of 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 a Nick Bolton. I mean, that’s pretty incredible.”
As Veach continued, he highlighted the next question Rees-Zammit will have to answer for his NFL career, implying that he hadn’t truly settled into one spot during his time in Kansas City.
“I think for him, it’ll be just finding out that exact position,” Veach said. “Running back, maybe a big slot receiver, I think he does have some potential as a returner. I’m not so sure he couldn’t be a kicker. I mean, he had an outstanding leg, and with this new rule, he can do some different things, provide some versatility.”
Veach capped off his assessment of Rees-Zammit’s departure by highlighting a scheduling perk that the Jaguars were able to offer to the Welshman: two trips closer to home.
“I think the Jacksonville thing, and their relationship overseas and what that brings to the table, going overseas twice a year, I think that was probably something that interested him,” Veach said. “Phenomenal kid, phenomenal worker, 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.”
There’s no reason to second-guess Veach’s final statements about Rees-Zammit. Throughout the process, we have heard only good things about how Rees-Zammit handled training camp, the preseason, his steep learning curve, and all of the challenges that his career change provided. However, Veach’s initial comments appear to be quite telling.
Throughout the offseason and preseason, the Chiefs prioritized second-year Nigerian offensive tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick as their International Player Pathway designee, who again holds KC’s 17th practice squad spot. Rees-Zammit, now listed as a wide receiver in Jacksonville, is the Jaguars’ new designated IPP player. For all of the credit Rees-Zammit’s preseason earned, the Chiefs appear to have flatly (and understandably) decided that they had at least 16 full-time football players who would provide more value from a standard practice squad spot, with Godrick keeping the IPP designation. That group includes running backs Emani Bailey and Keaontay Ingram as well as wide receivers Nikko Remigio, Justyn Ross and Montrell Washington.
For the geographically relevant aspects of Rees-Zammit’s departure to Jacksonville, it’s worth remembering that back in May, Rees-Zammit said that his “family holiday every year was to Florida,” which could have been a positive for Jacksonville’s offer. Also, as Veach alluded to, the Jaguars will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium for a pair of London games in back-to-back weeks this season.
Ultimately, reading between the lines of Veach’s comments, Rees-Zammit simply couldn’t prove that he was one of the 70 most valuable players on the Chiefs’ roster, with a 53-man roster and 17-player practice squad. While that’s a disappointing end to what once appeared to be a promising developmental campaign, Rees-Zammit now heads to Jacksonville with a chance to continue pushing for an NFL roster spot.
