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Louis Rees-Zammit receives offers from 3 NFL franchises
Former Wales superstar Louis Rees-Zammit is the subject of a three-way tug-of-war between American NFL sides offering him in the region of $900,000 a year to sign up for their summer training squads, RugbyPass understands.
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The 23-year-old Rees-Zammit is on a 10-week crash course to prepare to play American football as part of the 2024 International Player Pathway. He received offers before scouts from all 32 NFL franchises watched him in action at an NFL Pro Day on Wednesday afternoon.
He caught the eye at the University of South Florida, clocking an impressive 4.44s in the 40-yard dash before impressing with his neat footwork skills in position drills.
Rees-Zammit could be picked up to play either as a running back, wide receiver or even a punt or kick returner on special teams when his crash course finishes at the end of the month.
He couldn’t have picked a better time to try and crack America. For the first time, NFL franchises have been given an additional place in their practice squads for players who have come through the IPP.
Rees-Zammit with a lightning fast 40m time of 4.44 seconds at the NFL IPP pro day 😮💨⚡️ pic.twitter.com/u4kDf0pzen
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2024
“I fancied a new challenge, and what better challenge than be in the NFL? I have been training really well for seven or eight weeks now. I think I’m in a good position. I feel good, and I feel smooth. I just want to show everyone what I can do,” Rees-Zammit told CNN before the Pro Day.
“It’s not about the location or money. It’s about the plan for me. I want to be on a team that has a plan. I know and they know that if we go through a good plan, that knows where I am going to go in the future.”
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While his 4.44-second 40-yard dash is not among the top times clocked at this year’s combine, it is faster than the average for either a running back or a wide receiver out of this year’s class.
It is also faster than former rugby union to NFL convert Christian Wade, who clocked a 4.53-second dash in 2019.
Launched in 2017, the IPP seeks to unearth and nurture non-American athletes, offering them a unique opportunity to transition into the NFL.
This initiative has already seen some success, with several participants advancing to practice squads and even active rosters. Rugby league convert Jordan Mailata stands out as the programme’s flag bearer in terms of success.
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There are four rugby union players included in the class of 2024. As well as Rees-Zammit, Harry Mallinder, Darragh Leader and George Smith are all aiming to crack the American code.
Since its inception, 37 international players have signed with NFL teams, be they allocated, drafted or signed as a free agent. Eighteen IPP athletes are currently on the books at NFL franchises.
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments