Former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit has agreed to join the Jacksonville Jaguars – two days after the Kansas City Chiefs released him.
The Welshman will join the practice squad and has been listed as a wide receiver by the franchise after joining the Chiefs as a running back.
Rees-Zammit, who is believed to be joining on a one-year contract, had cemented himself as a superstar in rugby before his bombshell announcement this year that he was stepping away from the sport.
‘So happy to be here,’ Rees-Zammit said on Instagram, alongside a picture of him putting pen to paper for the Jaguars. ‘Thanks for the opportunity. It’s go time.’
And he appeared to reference his status as a running-back by placing the ‘eyes wide open’ emoji next the ‘WR’ letters on a screen displaying his name and position.
Louis Rees-Zammit has agreed a one-year contract with NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars
The former Wales rugby star joined his new team for practice on Thursday afternoon
Rees-Zammit shared his excitement at finding a new team on his Instagram account
He was pictured in practice later on Thursday, wearing the No 84 jersey. A back issue had hindered him in his final days at the Chiefs.
Jacksonville already has a packed running back room with the likes of Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, D’Ernest Johnson, and Keilan Robinson on the roster. Robinson is currently listed on injured reserve.
Across three preseason games with Kansas City, Rees-Zammit managed six carries for a total of 22 yards and one catch for three yards.
His best performance was in a 34-21 loss to the Chicago Bears – where Rees-Zammit rushed four times for 21 total yards.
But he was only fourth on the team in rushing and overall, it wasn’t enough to convince Andy Reid of his place on the team.
His family were in Kansas City to support him during preseason training camp with the Super Bowl champions.
Rees-Zammit always faced an uphill task to make the team in his rookie season.
The 23-year-old Welshman was released by the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this week
Though the Welshman has long dreamed of a career in the NFL, he had never played a game before joining the NFL’s International Player Pathway in January.
He was put through a 10-week boot camp before impressing scouts at a ‘pro day’. Rees-Zammit received interest from nearly half of the 32 teams in the NFL.
The Jaguars, who missed out on the playoffs last year, start the NFL season against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Florida.
