-
Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
Louis Rees-Zammit has been added to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad as he continues his dream of making the NFL.
The former rugby star was waived by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday, the day NFL teams had to trim their rosters to 53 players.
A source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that Rees-Zammit was headed to the Jaguars. The team confirmed the news on Thursday.
He will join their practice squad — a 17-member unit that can work out during the week with NFL teams — but he is ineligible to play in NFL games unless he is elevated to the active roster.
Rees-Zammit, 22, was signed as a running back by the Chiefs on a three-year deal after successfully coming through the International Player Pathway program (IPP). He was a star in rugby union, playing for Wales and touring with the British & Irish Lions. But it was always his dream to play in the NFL.
For the Chiefs, he played in all three of their preseason games, where he featured as a running back and wide receiver and on special teams (on both punt and kick return teams). He carried the ball six times in the preseason for 22 yards and registered one reception for three yards. He even tried out as a kicker.
However, he didn’t make the Chiefs’ final cut before the season. Each NFL team is allocated one extra slot on its practice squad for players in the IPP program, and the Chiefs had already handed that spot to Nigerian offensive tackle Chukwuebuka Godrick.
Rees-Zammit is now headed to Jacksonville, one of several franchises that showed interest in him after his impressive showing in the IPP pro day in March.