While Louis Rees-Zammit has made tremendous strides since it was announced he is swapping rugby union for a career in the National Football League (NFL), the jury is still out on whether he has done enough to make the Kansas City Chiefs’ final roster.

It was confirmed in January that Rees-Zammit was heading to the United States to join the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP), which gives elite athletes from around the world the chance to earn a spot on an NFL roster and increase the number of international players in the league.

Since then, the former Wales and Gloucester flyer’s game has come on in leaps and bounds and he impressed NFL scouts, which led to him joining the Kansas City Chiefs in March.

The defending Super Bowl champions start their pre-season programme on August 11 with an away game against the Jacksonville Jaguars before hosting back-to-back matches against the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.

Close to making Kansas City Chiefs debut

Rees-Zammit is set to make his debut for the Chiefs in one of those matches with his end goal being to give a good impression to the Chiefs’ coaches in a bid to be included on the team’s final 53-man roster, which will be announced on August 27.

But although the 23-year-old was noticed through the IPP programme, he was a free agent when he joined the Chiefs and that means the NFL’s IPP exemptions do not apply to him.

As IPP rules currently stand, players who came through that programme are allowed to take an extra position on a roster of a 16-player practice squad for any of the NFL’s 32 sides.

Strictly speaking, Rees-Zammit was not an IPP player when he joined the Chiefs, which means if he is added to their practice squad, one of the other NFL teams could still acquire his services.

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“I understand that they [Chiefs management] didn’t put the International Pathway Player exemption on him, so if he does not make the roster he would have to clear waivers and he can get scooped up by somebody else,” NFL pundit Cole DeRuse told the Chiefs Concerns podcast.

DeRuse is doubtful that Rees-Zammit will make the Chiefs’ final roster but said it would not surprise him if they did pick him.

Could be added to Chiefs roster to ‘protect him’

“You could make the case that the Chiefs may put him on the 53 to kind of protect him. They’ve done that before,” he added.

“I really think he’d benefit from a year in the Chiefs’ system, going through the reps and soaking up football knowledge. I don’t know that he makes the roster at this point in time.”

Meanwhile, former Chiefs tight-end Jason Dunn responded by saying he doesn’t think another NFL side will sign Rees-Zammit as he still has a lot to learn about his new sports code.

“If you put him on the practice squad I don’t believe that a team will scoop him up, just because he’s so much of a project,” he explained.

“There only way you would do it is if you’re trying to bring a bit more light to your team, the hype, the money. We’ve had rugby guys play before, the dude from Buffalo [Christian Wade], he was on the roster last year at least. He ended up getting cut.”

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