Breaking News: Andy Reid reveals exciting plans for ex rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit but new Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce issues stern warning

‘Big Red’ has big plans for Louis Rees-Zammit.

One of the greatest minds in the NFL one-upped the rest of the league this offseason by signing the former Wales international rugby star to a three-year contract.
Much has been made of ‘Rees-Lightning’s’ shock switch to a new sport but the once rugby fullback hugely impressed during the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).

Fans have speculated where the 23-year-old fits into Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning system and it turns out Andy Reid has an idea or two.

“We’ll start him off at the running back position and get him to feel comfortable with that,” the 66-year-old head coach said this week.

“Going forward here, he’s had an opportunity to also go down there to Dallas and work with Pat (KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes), and so again, he’ll get used to some of these calls through our Zooms and the plays, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.”
Rees-Zammit has a unique combination of speed and size that makes him a natural fit for the running back position.

However, the speedster could also make a huge impact on special teams next season after a major kickoff rule change was announced.

Explaining that it was not going to be an easy transition, Reid said that special teams coordinator Dave Toub would be working with Rees-Zammit on that side of the game.

“Potentially, they’re all out there working on returns. So before and during practice, we’ll just see what his feel is and where that goes.”
“Dave will have an opportunity to have him on special teams and see where that goes.

“That’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been wired to playing competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s sitting there 23; he’s had a pretty good career, with that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset to play at the professional level.”

Rees-Zammit’s decision to leave English rugby union side Gloucester in January and quit the sport altogether on the eve of Wales’ Six Nations campaign was criticised by many.

But LRZ’s bold gamble paid off when he showed out in the IPPP, a ten-week crash course designed to teach the required skills to succeed in the NFL.

He is said to have impressed numerous league scouts at his pro day and posted a 4.43 time in his 40-yard dash as well as a 9ft 7in broad jump and 29-inch vertical jump.

Three teams were interested in Rees-Zammit but he chose the Chiefs after Reid reached out to him personally.

Now, the hard work starts as the Welshman tries to make the 53-man Chiefs roster for Week 1 of the new NFL season.

LRZ’s new teammates Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes sent him a welcome text upon his arrival to Kansas City but the superstar tight end has since tempered expectations around his new running mate.
On a recent episode of his ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce issued a stern warning for Rees-Zammit ahead of his NFL debut.

“It’s gonna be a humbling experience at first. It’s not easy to just make that jump, they’re two completely different games,” Kelce said.

“He is an athlete and that’s what the Chiefs saw. He’s a smart kid, a smart player. So he’s gonna be able to pick up the offense eventually.

“But it’s gonna be a tough few months for him here while he’s getting acclimated to the NFL. We’ve been doing this since we were kids, so we’re gonna have those little instincts that we’ve built over the years that he’s got to catch up with.”

Reid, however, clearly sees something special in the former rugby man and thinks he can make a big impact on a Chiefs team chasing an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat next season.

“He was introduced to this when he was young when his dad played for six years in the European league,” Reid said.
“He’s somewhat familiar with the sport and has had success in rugby.

“And there are some similarities there as a contact sport, and he’s had the ball and does those things and runs with the ball.”