Louis Rees-Zammit ‘enjoying’ NFL career at Chiefs and feels it was correct time to ‘gamble’

admin | May 10, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Louis Rees-Zammit stands in front of a microphone.

A familiar face in an unexpected setting.

Behind him is a backdrop adorned with the Kansas City Chiefs’ logo, the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.

He was at the Chiefs’ training facility for a rookie-only mini-camp, when he donned the red and gold uniform for the first time.

Prior to this, he trained in a more private setting with Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs’ star quarterback and one of sports’ most known faces.

Rees-Zammit’s dreams of playing in the NFL are no longer out of reach. He’s a long way from Penarth and smiling from ear to ear.

“It’s been great,” he says ITV Cymru Wales. “I got to meet all of the boys and start training properly.

“I’ve been studying the playbook and starting to learn everything.

“It will undoubtedly take time, but I’m learning every day. “I’m enjoying the start.”

At 23, the former winger was still in the early stages of what appeared to be a lengthy and successful career as a professional rugby player.

But he shook the sport, especially in Wales, when he announced his retirement to seek a career in the NFL.

He recently faced criticism for claiming that he has accomplished everything he set out to do in rugby, having won a Six Nations title, being selected by the Lions, and playing in a World Cup.

Critics argue that he left a lot on the table, but Rees-Zammit believes he is satisfied with his decision but acknowledges it is a gamble.

“I’ve always wanted to do this so I backed myself that this was the right time to do it,” adds the man.

“There was a lot of buzz when I stated I’d accomplished everything I wanted in rugby.

“There are things in rugby that I could have done better, but I was satisfied with what I’d accomplished by the age of 23, so I figured now was the time.

“Yeah, it was certainly a gamble because I was leaving rugby to pursue this ambition.

“But now I’m at the Chiefs, I need to continue to work hard and try to make the 53-man roster.”

Being picked up by the Chiefs is already a step further than many expected. However, the Welshman will now spend the summer convincing head coach Andy Reid that he is deserving of a spot on the 53-man squad that will be active every week of the season.

He is in competition with team-mates who have been playing the sport since they were children.

Rees-Zammit is convinced that he is learning quickly, particularly since moving to Kansas City, but there are hurdles.

Currently, the winger-turned-running back is staying in a motel and spending his nights with new teammate Ian Book, revising a playbook that is longer than the Yellow Pages and vastly superior to anything he has seen in rugby.

“It’s been mentally challenging,” he says. “I understood how difficult it would be and how much I needed to know, but seeing a playbook in front of you and realizing how much you need to study is extremely different.

“To be honest, you probably memorize up to 1,000 plays during the NFL season. In rugby, you need to learn about 60.

“It’s incredibly strange and something I’m absolutely unfamiliar with. But I’m enjoying studying it and the many playing styles and setups.”

Rees-Zammit spends a large portion of his press conference outlining the differences between American football and rugby.

And he saw similarities between his new teammate Mahomes and an old one, Dan Biggar.

“Looking at a quarter-back and fly-half is probably the most similar position in rugby,” he said. “Patrick is great at reading the game.

“Dan Biggar was my favorite 10 and one of the greatest 10s to ever play the game. You can clearly observe how rapidly they read the game and make decisions.

“Patrick Mahomes can read the game, pick up cues, analyze defenses rapidly, and make plays.

“I believe Dan has done that since making his Wales debut at the age of eighteen. That’s definitely the comparison — how quickly they can understand the game and make judgments based on that.”

Professional sportsmen, particularly those who now compete in the most profitable sport in the world, such as Rees-Zammit, might often feel as if they are made of different stuff than the rest of us. However, they occasionally serve as a reminder that they are not perfect.

When asked about Wales, he responds, “I miss my mother and father the most. I haven’t seen them for a time.

“I was in Florida for two and a half months, then spent ten days with them before returning home.

“I’m missing my mother and father the most.

“I won’t lie, I miss the Welsh pastries. They were my favourites.

“And all my friends—I haven’t seen them in a long time.

“I’m incredibly proud to be Welsh. I believe Wales is the best country in the world. I miss everything about it, but especially my family and friends.”