Former rugby union star Louis Rees-Jammitt was not selected to the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster for the 2024 season.
The former Wales winger, who decided to quit rugby in January to pursue a career in the NFL, has been training with the Chiefs throughout the off-season.
The 23-year-old appeared in all three preseason games but did not play on the NFL’s “cutdown day.”
Each team has an offseason training squad of 90 players and must select 53 to start the season, with the deadline for selection being Tuesday.
But Reese-Jammitt’s hopes of competing in the regular season are not over yet.
Now that he’s on waivers, another team can sign him, but he’s expected to continue working out with the Chiefs as a member of their practice squad.
That would give him more time to adjust to the sport, and the NFL champion could promote him to the active roster up to three times during the season. NFL teams can promote two players from the practice squad for each game.
Reese-Jammitt’s NFL journey began with a 10-week training camp as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP).
He then signed with the Chiefs, who have won the last two Super Bowls, and was listed as a running back, but played a variety of positions during the preseason as the Chiefs tried to find the best role for him.
But his chances of making the cut were hurt on Monday when the team re-signed experienced receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was given the No. 9 jersey, the number the Wales rookie wore during the preseason.
IPP product Fraze Olatoke signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in June and the former Sprinter appeared in his first preseason game, but the Scot was released the following week.
Former Gaelic footballers Charlie Smith and Jude McAtumney also failed to make the team despite playing pre-season for the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants respectively.
A shoulder injury has ruled Travis Clayton out of Buffalo Bills’ pre-season and the Bills have placed the former Beijing Stoke rugby player on their injured list so he can continue training with the Bills once he is fit.
Meanwhile, NFL team owners voted to allow private equity funds to invest in their teams, a landmark move that could bring billions of dollars in new money to the league.
Historically, franchises have been run as family businesses or owned by wealthy individuals, but carefully selected companies are now allowed to purchase up to a 10% stake in a team.
The last club to be sold was the Washington Commanders last year for a league record £4.8 billion.
