Former Wallaby's NFL dream in limbo after Chargers dismissal

Hamstrung former Wallabies star Jordan Petaia’s NFL dream has hit a wall less than a fortnight into the preseason after he was waived by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Petaia signed a three-year deal with the Bolts in April after impressing as part of the league’s International Player Pathway (IPP) in a 10-week Florida crash course earlier this year.

But a hamstring injury forced him out of training this week, and on Friday morning (AEST), the Chargers announced Petaia had been waived and replaced by fellow Australian IPP graduate, tight end and former rugby teammate Thomas Yassmin.

Under new rules introduced last season, IPP players can be carried by clubs in an extra roster spot and activated at any stage.

Injuries regularly interrupted Petaia’s 31-Test career for the Wallabies, after he’d debut at 18 for the Queensland Reds and become the youngest Australian to play at a Rugby World Cup the following year.

The 25-year-old knocked back lucrative European rugby and NRL offers – and the chance to feature for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions – to instead give up at least five months of pay to pursue his NFL dream.

Petaia could still be retained by LA on the injured reserves list, or picked up by another NFL club.

Atlanta, Cleveland and Kansas City had shown interest in Petaia after the Australian impressed at the University of South Florida’s Pro Day.

He could also return to rugby, like his Welsh IPP counterpart Louis Rees-Zammit who has been linked with a move to the rebel league R360.

Rees-Zammit announced his rugby return last week after two years in the NFL system without game time.

A club statement on Friday confirmed Yassmin’s signing and Petaia’s exit, without revealing details of his injury.

Sydney product Yassmin played schoolboys rugby with Petaia before a college football stint at the University of Utah.

He was picked up from the IPP program by the Denver Broncos, where he spent last season on their practice squad.

“About 48 hours ago, I was actually picking up my missus from the airport in Denver,” Yassmin told ESPN after his first practice.

“On the way, I get a call from the Chargers saying, ‘Hey, so you want to come in for a visit in a few hours?’.

“I’m blessed to have the opportunity. It is unfortunate, the circumstances, but I’ll take it when I can.”

The team has played just one preseason game under coach Jim Harbaugh and already lost the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackle, Rashawn Slater, to a season-ending knee injury.

Slater, who signed a four-year, US$114 million contract last week, was immediately placed on the injured reserves list.