Louis Rees-Zammit on expected NFL debut and potential rugby return

Louis Rees-Zammit has said that he “could be one injury away” from making his NFL debut, but is treating his first season in American football as a “learning year”.

A member of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, the 23-year-old is yet to play a game in the NFL, although he was given a taste of American football in Kansas City Chiefs’ three pre-season fixtures in August.

Joining Jim Hamilton on the latest episode of RugbyPass TV’s Walk the Talk ahead of Jacksonville’s clash with the New England Patriots at Wembley on Sunday, the Welshman likened his current role to that of being a travelling reserve in a rugby match.

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So while the former British and Irish Lion has not set his sights on breaking into the NFL in his “learning year”, particularly after the Jaguars switched him to play at wide receiver after being used as a running back by the Chiefs, he is acutely aware that his debut could be thrust upon him at any time. After all, he has seen that happen to five members of his practice squad already this season.

Having only quit rugby in January, it would have required a Herculean effort to break into the NFL in a matter of months, so Rees-Zammit is allowed a grace period to acclimatise. With that said, he still needs to know the game plan each week in case he is called upon at the eleventh hour.

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“Having changed positions now to [wide] receiver, I’m kind of looking at this year as a learning year, learning the game, being involved with a team for the first time, going to matches,” he told Hamilton.

“I’m taking this year as I’m going to do as much as I can to get on the field and if an opportunity arises, I’m going to take it with both hands. It could happen on game day, it’s a bit like being a travelling reserve in rugby if someone goes down in the warm-up.

“It could be one injury away, obviously we never want that to happen, but if an injury happens, you could get called up. Everyone needs to be ready to play that week.

“We have a game plan going into that week and everyone needs to know that game plan, not just the players that are playing but even the practice squad need to know that because in the six games we’ve had, we’ve had five elevations from the practice squad, so five boys have actually played on the matchday. So if one player gets injured, you could get called up.”

The question much of the rugby world has been asking more or less ever since the former winger landed in the United States is whether he will ever return to rugby. Many, like Hamilton, don’t want him to, they would rather see him excel in his new profession, but it is nevertheless a question being asked.

To that, Rees-Zammit cannot give a concrete answer, but all eyes are focussed on the present.

“I do miss rugby,” the 32-cap Wales international said. “I watch Gloucester every weekend. I’d never say never, but this is my dream to play in the NFL, so I’m going to do anything I can to make this happen and if for some reason it doesn’t work out then I’ll try rugby again. But my mindset is this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my career.”

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