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Louis Rees-Zammit signs for the Jacksonville Jaguars
By Josh Raisey
Louis Rees-Zammit has signed for the Jacksonville Jaguars, breathing new life into his hopes of playing in the NFL.
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After being released by the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this week after spending the entire pre-season with them, the 23-year-old has joined the Jaguars’ practice squad for the upcoming season, which does leave the door open for a potential call-up during the NFL campaign.
Despite being listed as a running back by the Super Bowl champions and being deployed in a variety of roles during the three pre-season matches he played for them, the Welshman has been listed as a wide receiver by his new side.
The Jaguars have two fixtures in the UK later this year- against the Chicago Bears at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13 and the New England Patriots at Wembley the following week.
Having come through the NFL’s International Player Pathway programme earlier this year, Rees-Zammit will occupy an extra practice squad spot for the Jaguars, as stipulated by the league: “The NFL has specific roster rules for players that sign through the IPP. Each season, an NFL division is selected at random to participate in the IPP program. Designated teams are allowed an extra off-season roster spot for the IPP player assigned to that team.
“At the end of training camp, IPP players can either be signed to their assigned club’s 53-man roster or waived. Players who clear waivers may be signed to their assigned team’s practice squad using an IPP exemption that allows for an extra practice squad spot. IPP players signed to a practice squad using the exemption may not be signed to any team’s active roster that season; however, players signed to a practice squad without the exemption are treated in the same way as other practice squad players for roster purposes.”
