Louis Rees-Zammit’s NFL dream suffers setback as Kansas City Chiefs prepare for final pre-season games
Kansas City Chiefs running back Louis Rees-Zammit catches a pass during the NFL football team's rookie minicamp.
Louis Rees-Zammit has been hit by a setback in his quest to nail down a place in the Kansas City Chiefs’ final roster as he missed a recent training session due to injury.
The 23-year-old former Wales international is in a fight to make the 53-man squad but with just two pre-season games remaining, time is running out to lock down a place.
Rees-Zammit received a mixed review in his most recent outing for the Chiefs against the Jacksonville Jaguars, with some observers questioning his overall performance.
One pre-season game left
Therefore with the two pre-season games before the Chiefs name their roster the ex-Gloucester star will hope to be fit to make any statement he possibly can on the field.
After taking on the Detroit Lions this coming weekend, the Chiefs, who boast Patrick Mahones and Travis Kelce as star players, take on the Chicago Bears next Friday.
However, it appears to be a race against time for Rees-Zammit as the Chiefs special teams co-ordinator Dave Toub revealed that he missed a session with a back issue.
“We just need to get more reps out there and make sure that it is clear what the rules are; obviously, we made a mistake in the game,” Toub said when discussing their kick returns against the Jaguars. “It ended up costing us, but it’s a great learning experience for us.
“[It will be the] same guys that you saw. So I still want to see other guys. I want to see Rees (Louis Rees-Zammit), but he didn’t practice today. He might not be available. We’ll see, but I still want to see… there’s a lot of guys I want to see. We got time to do that.”
British & Irish Lions tourist Rees-Zammit has been on a crash course of American football since joining the NFL’s International Player Pathway project earlier this year.
Last week was his first taste of Kansas City Chiefs action in a game setting and he had a couple of runs, including one as a receiver, he made a tackle and also took a kick-off.
“It was a great first experience,” he told the Irish NFL Show. “I loved it, I loved getting the snaps I did, on special teams as well which was great. I’ve just got to look back on this, review it and see how I can get better.
“I got a little kick-off, that was great, being able to play special teams is amazing. To be able to exploit different skills. But yeah, I’m happy. I’ll see how I can get better and take it onto the next game.
“The atmosphere was great, it was pretty electric in the stadium and there was a load of Chiefs fans, which helped massively. It was a great game and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
The Super Bowl champions start the 2024 NFL campaign against the Baltimore Ravens on September 6, a game Rees-Zammit will be desperate to feature in.
