Last March, rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit signed with the Chiefs. His first year in the NFL resulted in no regular-season appearances.
The journey took him from the Chiefs offseason/preseason 90-man roster to the Jacksonville practice squad. Along the way, he switched from running back to receiver.
Despite the fact that he never played in a game that counts (he spent the full year on the pracice squad), Rees-Zammit remains all in for American football.
“I’ve never thought about going back to rugby,” Rees-Zammit told Philip Marsh of BBC Sport Wales. “It hasn’t been in my head that I’m not going to do this. I’ve always wanted this. . . . The second [returning to rugby] creeps into your head you start doubting yourself and that’s not going to happen with me.”
On Monday, Rees-Zammit signed with Jacksonville’s offseason 90-man roster. But it remains a steep climb to the 53-man, Week 1 active roster.
“The first step of the dream is to make an active roster, I’m doing everything I can to make that happen,” Rees-Zammit told Marsh. “This is my dream, and the way I make it come true is by working as hard as I can to make the roster.”
The persistence, commitment, and determination is admirable. Still, he’ll be competing with many others who want the same thing he does in the zero-sum game of earning an official regular-season spot on an NFL team.
“Every day is a challenge, every day is hard, hard work, but it is one that for this dream to come true is worth doing,” Rees-Zammit said. “I’m doing everything I can to become a better player on the field and a better person off the field, so I’m really looking forward to this season.”
Rees-Zammit has time. He turned 24 on February 1. And with a full year of NFL practice under his belt, he’ll now have a full and fair chance to take the next step.
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