Louis Rees-Zammit says his attempts to make the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster or even their practice squad were frustrated by his inability to learn one very specific aspect of American football. Kansas City Star Journalist Jesse Newell.
Join Anthony Wootton Transatlantic Sports Show Newell recently revealed that the former Wales winger’s struggles in pass protection were a big reason why the Super Bowl champions released him and the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to their practice squad instead.
Many, especially Chiefs manager Andy Reid, have praised Rees-Zammit’s athleticism, but it is a technical aspect of American football that does not help much from playing rugby.
Newell, who has been watching Chiefs’ training sessions closely throughout pre-season, explained why the Welshman struggled with certain pass protection drills. He also explained on the podcast that Rees-Zammit had dropped down the pecking order as training camp progressed.
“I wasn’t surprised he wasn’t on the 53-man roster,” he said.
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“You could see that happening throughout training camp, and we go to training camp every day. You know, the team practices with the best players, and then they go to the second team, and then the third team, and then the fourth team. So early on, Lewis was in the second team and the third team. As practice progressed, he was in the third team and the fourth team.
“So it’s like a truth serum for coaches. When guys at the end of the list are practicing with guys at the end of the list, it seems like they’re a long way from making the team. But throughout this whole process, the Chiefs coaches have been praising Lewis’ accomplishments. We’ve loved talking to him in the press. He’s a really engaging guy. He seems really committed to this and he seems to take it seriously, which is what it takes for him to make the transition to a completely different sport.
“But I think one of the moments that stood out as things went on was that what the Chiefs wanted from Lewis was that there’s a very specific role on third down in the NFL. That is, if you have a back in the backfield who can protect the quarterback and also catch passes out of the backfield, that’s a role that every team needs in the NFL.
“But you have to know how to pass-protect, and there was a pass-protection drill that Lewis did a couple weeks ago, and one of the linebackers just ran over him. He hasn’t figured out the mechanics yet, he hasn’t figured out leverage yet. So he’s a big guy, but he doesn’t understand the nuances of what it takes to stop a 250-pound guy from coming at you and protecting the quarterback.
“So I think the Chiefs wanted this to happen very quickly. They wanted him to learn all this stuff and potentially play a role as a third-down back and on special teams, you know, kickoff returns, punt returns, all that type of stuff. It just didn’t happen quickly enough. So I wasn’t surprised he was cut from the 53-man roster. I was a little more surprised he ended up on another team later this week.”
Newell added another reason the Chiefs didn’t sign Reese-Zammit to their practice squad: He’s on the practice squad ahead of the new season.
The Chiefs are aiming for a historic Super Bowl triple crown this season and are focused on the present rather than looking ahead to a long-term project.
“I think the Chiefs saw potential in him,” he added. “But the potential fit is that he might be a better player if he wasn’t a Super Bowl contender. If he wasn’t worried about winning right away. I mean, the Chiefs are on the other end of that spectrum right now. They’re trying to win the first three-peat in NFL history.
“So it might not be a question of what we can get out of a player in two or three years. It might be more about how this team or this practice squad player can do this year to help the team win another Super Bowl and make history like never before.”
Given that Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson is a “protégé” of Reid’s, Newell thinks the Jaguars could be a good fit for Reese-Zammet, but stressed that the biggest challenge right now is learning a completely new playbook.
The Jaguars open the NFL season on Sunday, September 8 against the Miami Dolphins.
