Forgotten Chiefs storyline may not make the 53-man roster after all

Sustaining a dynasty is not an easy task in the NFL. The salary cap, draft and schedule are all systematically designed to pull every team to mediocrity. As division winners, the team faces other division winners in the following season. As constant playoff contenders, the team has to pay a premium to retain the players that got them to the postseason. As Super Bowl champions, the franchise picks dead last in the draft.

For the Kansas City Chiefs, that has meant they've needed to get creative to fill their roster with talent. Mainstays such as head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce continue to remain with the team, but general manager Brett Veach had to look abroad to find adequate offensive weapons for the 2024 season.

During the offseason, the Chiefs signed former rugby union star Louis Rees-Zammit, a Welsh rugby player who entered the NFL through the international player pathway in March.

Louis Rees-Zammit seems unlikely to earn a roster spot for the Chiefs

While the 23-year-old caused plenty of excitement after his signing, Rees-Zammit appears unlikely to make the Chiefs 53-man roster.

The Chiefs have tried to fit the rugby star into different roles as he looks to translate his skills as a rugby wing to American football, but the transition hasn't been easy.

Rees-Zammit began minicamp as a running back with hopes of developing into a wide receiver, but the emergence of Carson Steele, an undrafted free agent running back, has pushed the Welshman even further down the depth chart.

Rees-Zammit's most natural fit is as a kick returner, but Steele and wide receivers Nikko Remigio and Skyy Moore all had longer kickoff returns during Kansas City's second preseason game. The former rugby wing played briefly at wide receiver but did not see any touches on offense.

In the preseason, Kansas City even used Rees-Zammit instead of Harrison Butker for kickoffs. Under the new kickoff format, the idea was that his rugby experience would make him more valuable than Butker as a tackler during the kick return.

At the NFL's international player pathway Pro Day in March, Rees-Zammit measured in at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. He recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds to go along with a 9-foot-7 broad jump and 29-inch vertical jump. 

Despite his athletic prowess, Rees-Zammit still has a long way to go before rising to prominence in the NFL. He's likely to land on Kansas City's practice squad while he develops, but he'll have one more opportunity to earn a roster spot during the Chiefs final preseason game against the Chicago bears on Friday, August 23.