Louis Rees-Zammit a step away from NFL

The former Gloucester Rugby player made the practice squad for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Louis Rees-Zammit is the latest rugby union player to try their hand at the transition to the NFL, following in the footsteps of the likes of Christian Wade, Alex Gray, and Christian Scotland-Williamson.

Rees-Zammit’s current NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, are going to be taking on the Chicago Bears in a crucial game at the iconic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London on Sunday 13th October 2024. The game is set to get underway at 2:30 pm that afternoon.

The Jaguars will then go face to face with the New York Patriots at Wembley Stadium a week later on Sunday 20th October 2024, with this game also getting underway at 2:30 pm.

Starting with Wade, he starred for Wasps between 2011 and 2018 before joining the Buffalo Bills as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program. He showed promise in some pre-season matches in 2019, scoring a 70 metre touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, he did not make the Bills’ active roster before returning to rugby union in 2022 with Racing 92.

As for Gray, from 2010 to 2021, he played for the likes of the Newcastle Falcons, London Irish, Bath, and Yorkshire Carnegie. He took a break from rugby when in 2017 he became the first British rugby player to start a career in the NFL when he signed for the Atlanta Falcons as a tight end. Unfortunately for him, he never made the active roster despite being part of their practice squad. After leaving American Football in 2019, he signed for Bath in 2020.

Christian Scotland-Williamson played for the Worcester Warriors as a lock between 2014 and 2017 before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in September 2018 before going on to sign a reserve/future contract with the team on 1st January 2019. He spent a total of three years with the Steelers, before returning to rugby union with Harlequins in 2021.

In an interview with the Washington Post, he highlighted how difficult it can be for rugby players to transition to the NFL: “There’s not many people who know how hard that transition is, to go from one sport to another.

“When you’re trying to unlearn a way of moving or learn new professional habits at the highest level, it’s extremely challenging. I think you could see that a bit in Louis’s game in the preseason.”

Moving on to Rees-Zammit, he spent his entire rugby union career with Gloucester, playing for them as a Wing and Full Back from 2018 to early 2024, making 77 appearances and scoring 210 points.

He retired from rugby union on 16th January 2024, joining the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, before going on to sign as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs on 29th March 2024.

Unfortunately for the former Wales international, he failed to make the cut for their practice squad. He did go on to join the Jacksonville Jaguars as a wide receiver two days after his departure from the Chiefs. In joining the Jaguars’ practice squad, he has strengthened his chances of securing his spot in their active roster in the NFL by October, which is when his side will travel to the UK to play matches in London.

The Jaguars will be making the trip to the UK to take on the Chicago Bears at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday 13th October 2024 before facing the New York Patriots at Wembley Stadium seven days later. Both of these games will be getting underway at 2:30 pm.

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