Louis Rees-Zammit has failed to secure a place on the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster ahead of the 2024 season.
The Welshman, who quit rugby union earlier this year, was officially waived by the back-to-back Superbowl champions ahead of the deadline on Tuesday evening.
The 23-year-old’s NFL hopes have not been completely dashed.
He could be picked up by one of the other 31 teams or, if he remains unclaimed, be assigned a place on the Chiefs’ practise squad.
Each team is allowed up to 17 practise squad players, who may be promoted to the main roster or signed to another club during the season.
One spot on the squad is allocated through the International Player Pathway (IPP) programme which Rees-Zammit came through after leaving Gloucester in January and before signing a three-year contract with the Chiefs in March.
Rees-Zammit made his third appearance of the pre-season – the only games of organised American football he has played in his career – in Thursday’s 34-21 loss to the Chicago Bears, playing various roles.
In pre-season games, featuring a squad of up to 90 players which is cut to 53 ahead of the season, he recorded four carries for 21 yards, had a kick return of 36 yards, but also missed a tackle chasing a punt return and was unable to haul in the ball the only time he was targeted with a pass. He was also used as a kicker at restarts.
Asked about Rees-Zammit after the Bears game, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said: “He’s a heck of an athlete. It’s just a matter of getting more familiar with it as he goes here. We’ll see how everything works out for him.”
Former England and Wasps winger Christian Wade took the IPP route in 2019 and joined the Buffalo Bills, but although he scored a memorable 65-yard touchdown in pre-season, he never made a regular-season appearance in the NFL before returning to rugby in 2022.
Christian Scotland-Williamson left Worcester in 2017 and spent three years trying to make it with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but likewise failed to make an appearance, and signed for Harlequins in 2021.
Former discus thrower Lawrence Okoye, who competed at the London Olympics in 2012, entered the 2013 NFL draft but was not selected, spending time with six different teams between 2015 and 2017 before returning to athletics having never made the field in the NFL.
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