JJ Watt gives possible reason Kansas City signed potential diamond who ‘looks amazing’

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Kansas City comes into the 2024 season with full force in their quest for the three-peat.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ record in signings and extensions during the offseason is excellent. And there are also the young players who will come from the Draft and develop their talents in the squad.

Alongside the good work done by KC, the NFL has made new changes to the rules of the game with a view to reducing injuries and increasing competitiveness as much as possible.

In the upcoming season, kickers will still initiate play from their own 35-yard line. However, there will be a shift in the positioning of the remaining players on the kicking team, who will now line up at the 40-yard line on the receiving team’s field.

At the same time, the receiving team will deploy two players within the designated “landing zone”, situated between the 20-yard line and the goal line. The remainder of the team will be stationed in the setup zone, spanning the area between the 35-yard and 30-yard lines on the returning team’s field.

With the exception of the kicker and the pair of receivers, all other players from both teams are prohibited from moving until the ball either touches the ground or is retrieved by a returner. Fair catches are not permitted, and returning the ball is mandatory upon reaching the landing zone.

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Former NFL player thinks KC made a move due to new kickoff rule

Coincidentally or not, Kansas City has innovated by bringing in a new addition to the team: Louis Rees-Zammit, a former rugby player. The idea is for him to occupy the position of running back and/or even special teams.

JJ Watt, retired former player and now co-owner of English Premier League side Burnley FC, was the guest on last Thursday’s Stick to Football podcast. He mentioned that Rees-Zammit will inevitably be impacted by the difference between rugby and American football.

“With Louis Rees-Zammit, the rugby player who has been signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s big news. He’s strong and looks amazing. They’re doing a big reveal on it, which is funny because I saw a meme on it recently that they’re doing a reveal for a guy who is going to be fighting for a roster spot.”

“The NFL has just changed the kickoff rules, so I think that’s part of why they’ve signed him as he has experience in this, as rugby has a similar style running system where the kickoffs might play. But there is no guarantee he’s going to be a slam dunk but he’s absolutely going to make it, at least from the little that I know about it.”

Watt points out that there is no certainty that he will be in the active squad: “The NFL is such a cut-throat business, so it’s going to be hard for him to make it, but we shall see. It’s just because there’s only 53 spots and you start the roster with 90 players.”

“That means you’re cutting all those guys to get down to 50 and means the teams don’t care who they’re cutting. At the beginning of training camp, every team starts with 90 players and then by opening day, you have to get to 53”, he explained.

What if footballers could play in the NFL

At one point during the show, the topic on the table was the relationship between Premier League and NFL players. The former Houston Texans defensive end was asked if he thought it was possible for a football player to join the American football league.

“My wife and I have conversations all the time, her obviously being a professional football player and myself in the NFL, and we talk about the overlaps and the different types of athleticism required.”

“We recently spoke about Erling Haaland and were saying, could NFL players with five years of training, come over and make it in a professional team. I’m not saying to play for the top teams, but make a professional squad and vice versa. If you give Haaland five years to train in the weight room and learn, could he come and do something in the NFL? It was a fascinating debate that we got into.”

The arrival of the Welsh rugby player has opened the door for future footballers or even athletes from other sports to try their hand at a career in the NFL.

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