JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is giving up American football.
Rees-Zammit announced on social media Thursday that he is leaving the NFL and returning to rugby.
“It’s been a great experience, but it’s time to come home,” he wrote. “I’ve decided that this is the best time to make this decision to give myself time to get everything in place for next season. There’s only one thing that’s on my mind, (and) that’s doing what I do best. I can’t explain how excited I am!
“There’ll be more news to come soon, but for now, see you soon rugby fans.”
Rees-Zammit, 24, joined the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars last September and changed positions, switching from running back to receiver in hopes of finding his way onto the playing field. He previously spent five months working as a running back with Kansas City.
But he made little progress and was considered a long shot at playing for the Jags in 2025. Rees-Zammit had missed the last five practices with a lower back injury.
He was part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, which is designed to give players from other countries a chance. NFL teams can have up to 16 players on their practice squad and get an extra spot for a player from the Pathway Program. Rees-Zammit spent all of last season on Jacksonville’s practice squad.
Practice squad players work the same amount as guys on the 53-man roster, but they don’t get paid as much and would need to be promoted to the active roster to play in a game.
It was an opportunity to practice with the team while essentially waiting for an injury to open up a roster spot. For Rees-Zammit, it gave one of the best wingers in rugby for years an opportunity to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL.
His father’s “first love of sport” was American football, and the then-Washington Redskins were their team. But making the leap across the Atlantic and into the NFL was never something that everyone back home understood.
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