Despite injury worries, Louis Rees-Zammit made his Kansas City Chiefs home debut against the Detroit Lions.
Due to a back problem, it was anticipated that the former rugby union wing will miss the preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium.
However, the 23-year-old dismissed those worries and played a number of roles in the Lions’ 24-23 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions.
Rees-Zammit, a rugby union player for Gloucester, Wales, and the British and Irish Lions, not only worked with the punt return unit but also took a kickoff.
He briefly played wide receiver and returned a Lions kickoff 27 yards.
Rees-Zammit said to KSNT News after making his debut at Arrowhead, “I got to experience [the atmosphere] a little bit today.” We’ll see what happens after another game here next week, which excites me.
“I’m making every effort. Every day in training, I put in a lot of effort to demonstrate my abilities.
“The more reps I get, the better I’ll get so I’m excited to see what’s going to happen next week and obviously in the future.”
Last weekend, Rees-Zammit made his Chiefs debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first preseason game.
The Welshman is now aiming for a spot on the 53-man roster of the Chiefs for the NFL season, which begins on September 6th against the Baltimore Ravens.
Following their last preseason game on Friday, August 23 (01:20 BST) against the Chicago Bears, the Chiefs will officially announce their roster.