Louis Rees-Zammit's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

The Kansas City Chiefs released former rugby star and running back Louis Rees-Zammit on Tuesday, according to sources. The Chiefs continue to cut down their roster to get to 53 players ahead of the 2024 regular season in less than two weeks, and they also cut running back Deneric Prince. The 23-year-old Rees-Zammit was fighting for a depth role this summer, but a back injury suffered on Monday in practice certainly didn't help his cause. The signing of Rees-Zammit was pretty much just an intriguing flier from the beginning, and he was unlikely to do much for the Chiefs this year outside of maybe some special teams duties had he made the team. With Rees-Zammit now gone, both Mecole Hardman and Nikko Remigio will likely take on bigger return roles to begin the regular season.

The best and perhaps most direct way for Kansas City Chiefs running back Louis Rees-Zammit, a speedster and former rugby star, to earn a spot on the initial roster is by excelling as a kickoff returner. However, he will also compete with Deneric Prince and Keaontay Ingram for the third RB spot on the depth chart this summer in training camp. "He's done above and beyond what I've expected," special teams coordinator Dave Toub said of Rees-Zammit in late May. The 23-year-old's chances of making the Chiefs roster are aided by new rules allowing an extra 17th practice-squad spot during the regular season for international players. It will be interesting to see how offensive mastermind and head coach Andy Reid utilizes Rees-Zammit, but expecting the former Welsh rugby star to make an immediate impact in fantasy would be foolish.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit will be started off as a running back in his transition to the NFL game in 2024. Reid said it's "not an easy transition, but he seems to be wired" for the professional game due to his experience in rugby. Rees-Zammit is getting acclimated to the team by working with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company in Texas during in-person work. "We'll start him off at the running back position, get him to feel comfortable with that going forward here," Reid said. The head coach also said Rees-Zammit will get looks from special teams coordinator Dave Toub in the return game once the team gets into offseason work. The signing of the rugby star was interesting this offseason, but Rees-Zammit will be a long shot to become fantasy relevant in 2024.