Latest news with #InternationalPathwayProgram
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jacksonville Jaguars' WR Louis Rees-Zammit on NFL future
Current Jacksonville Jaguars' wide receiver, Louis Rees-Zammit, recently discussed his future in the NFL in an interview with talkSPORT's Hawksbee and Jacobs. Rees-Zammit is embarking on his second NFL season. Before making the transition to the NFL, the Wales native was an accomplished rugby player. Advertisement During the 2024 offseason, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as part of the NFL's International Pathway Program (IPP). After being released during roster cutdowns last summer, he caught on with the Jaguars' practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the 2024 season. "International players get probably two to three years to make it in the NFL," said Rees-Zammit, via "So, I wanted to do it at a time where I maybe could come back to rugby." Rees-Zammit is currently the Jaguars' IPP designated player, which allows them to have 91 players on the offseason roster and carry 17 players on the practice squad in-season if he makes the team in that capacity and retains the IPP designation. If Rees-Zammit were to make the 53-man roster, he would no longer have the IPP designation. However, how this upcoming season unfolds for Rees-Zammit will, from the sounds of it, strongly dictate whether he continues to pursue an NFL career or return to his rugby career. Advertisement "I'm 24 now, probably got one to two more years to try and make it depending on how this year goes," Rees-Zammit said. "I'll be 25, 26 when I go back to rugby. I like to think I can still play at the highest level." At the receiver position for the Jaguars, we know that four roster spots are already accounted for with Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Parker Washington. At a position where typically five or six players are rostered, that leaves just one to two spots available. Beyond those top four spots on the depth chart, there is a lot of inexperience at the receiver position for the Jaguars, which can lead to opportunities. However, with Rees-Zammit still relatively new to the game of football, he's navigating a steeper learning curve than the other wideouts vying for a roster spot. This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars' International Pathway Player Louis Rees-Zammit on NFL future
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jacksonville Jaguars' WR Louis Rees-Zammit on NFL future
Jaguars' WR Louis Rees-Zammit recently discussed his NFL future. Current Jacksonville Jaguars' wide receiver, Louis Rees-Zammit, recently discussed his future in the NFL in an interview with talkSPORT's Hawksbee and Jacobs. Rees-Zammit is embarking on his second NFL season. Before making the transition to the NFL, the Wales native was an accomplished rugby player. During the 2024 offseason, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as part of the NFL's International Pathway Program (IPP). After being released during roster cutdowns last summer, he caught on with the Jaguars' practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the 2024 season. "International players get probably two to three years to make it in the NFL," said Rees-Zammit, via "So, I wanted to do it at a time where I maybe could come back to rugby." Rees-Zammit is currently the Jaguars' IPP designated player, which allows them to have 91 players on the offseason roster and carry 17 players on the practice squad in-season if he makes the team in that capacity and retains the IPP designation. If Rees-Zammit were to make the 53-man roster, he would no longer have the IPP designation. However, how this upcoming season unfolds for Rees-Zammit will, from the sounds of it, strongly dictate whether he continues to pursue an NFL career or return to his rugby career. "I'm 24 now, probably got one to two more years to try and make it depending on how this year goes," Rees-Zammit said. "I'll be 25, 26 when I go back to rugby. I like to think I can still play at the highest level." At the receiver position for the Jaguars, we know that four roster spots are already accounted for with Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Parker Washington. At a position where typically five or six players are rostered, that leaves just one to two spots available. Beyond those top four spots on the depth chart, there is a lot of inexperience at the receiver position for the Jaguars, which can lead to opportunities. However, with Rees-Zammit still relatively new to the game of football, he's navigating a steeper learning curve than the other wideouts vying for a roster spot.
USA Today
01-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Countdown to Cutdown Rundown: Player Profiles for Jersey No. 99
Countdown to Cutdown Rundown: Player Profiles for Jersey No. 99 - 91 Throughout the 2025 offseason, Cowboys Wire will be running a series of player profiles on the members of the club's 90-man offseason roster. Well, 91-man roster, as the team has one of the NFL's International Pathway Program allotments that allows a franchise to carry an extra player who was born outside of the United States. These profiles will allow fans to have a general idea of a player's background, how they arrived in the league and how they ended up on the Dallas Cowboys' roster, along with the journey that will be ahead of them. For star players, these will look at their accomplishments and for players who are just trying to make either the 53-man roster of 16-man practice squad, it will be a brief look at the fight ahead of them. This piece will serve as a repository for each of those articles, as well as a link to each previous 10-number repository. No. 99: None No. 98: DE Payton Turner | Link No. 97: DT Osa Odighizuwa | Link No. 96: DT Justin Rogers | Link No. 95: DT Denzel Daxon | Link No. 94: DE Marshawn Kneeland | Link No. 93: DT Jay Toia | Link No. 92: None No. 91: DE Tyrus Wheat | Link Repositories 99 - 91 | 90 - 81 | 80 - 71 | 70 - 61 | 60 - 51 | 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
NBC Sports
25-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Darrell "Housh" Doucette hopes flag football players get an opportunity to make Olympic team
He's five feet, seven inches. He weighs 140 pounds. Darrell 'Housh' Doucette nevertheless performed a cannonball into the deep end of the pro football pool last year, when he declared he'd be a better flag football player than Patrick Mahomes, given Doucette's knowledge of the game. Doucette and other flag football players ostensibly will get their chance, if the tryout process for the 2028 Olympics gives them a fair chance to compete with active NFL players. 'The flag guys deserve their opportunity,' Doucette told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. 'That's all we want. We felt like we worked hard to get the sport to where it's at, and then when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we were getting kicked to the side. I felt like I was the guy who could speak out for my peers, for my brothers that's been working hard to get to this level, for us not to be forgotten.' Doucette believes that the current complement of American flag football players is good enough to win gold, without NFL players horning in. 'This is a sport that we've played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don't need other guys,' Doucette said. 'But we all have one goal in mind, and that's to represent our country. We're definitely open to all competition. If those guys come in and ball out and they're better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country.' Doucette's confidence comes from the inherent differences between flag football and tackle football. 'It's entirely two different games,' Doucette said. 'You can't really compare flag football and tackle football.' 'These are things that we practice and we work on to become great,' Doucette said. 'Those guys, they don't understand it yet.' The looming opponents of the U.S. men's team believe the NFL players will figure it out. Chad Palmer, the head coach of the Canadian men's national flag football team for eight years, would rather face Doucette and his teammates than an all-star collection of NFL talent. 'We have a better chance of beating the flag players than the NFLers,' Palmer told Kilgore. 'I say that with a fair bit of confidence.' Palmer believes former tackle players have greater skills than flag players. He also believes that tackle football players can quickly close the gap with their tackle football skills. 'The transferables are all over the place,' Palmer said. 'If you take a Ja'Marr Chase — he's spent his entire life route-running and finding leverage in coverage and understanding football and getting paid a lot of money to do it. How can a player that's playing a rec sport in the past be even in the same stratosphere? No chance.' Palmer believes the Canadian team also will consist of primarily NFL players, too. 'I don't think the current guys who have been doing it for a long time will hold a candle to the pros,' Palmer said. Still, with the NFL limiting eligibility to one player per team (along with the franchise's International Pathway Program player), there will only be so many high-end NFL players to go around. In all, 32 non-IPP players will be available. With a five-on-five format and 10 players per team and six teams in the 2028 Olympic tournament, neither half of all players necessarily won't be from regular NFL rosters.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ravens Outsmart NFL Using International Pathway Program
The International Pathway Program is something the NFL made in order to encourage players from other countries to see what they can do in the NFL. One notable player that used this is Philadelphia Eagles star lineman Jordan Mailata, who grew up playing rugby in Australia, and then came over to the United States when he was 21. Advertisement The Baltimore Ravens have now made use of this program, but they have found a way to cheat the system just a bit. Nigerian edge rusher appeared in 13 games this past season for the Ravens, which would make one think that he would not be eligible for the IPP. But you would be wrong. The only qualifications needed are citizenship and residency outside the United States and Canada, with a maximum of two years of US high school experience. And Ojabo fits those requirements. That means the NFL had to grant a roster exemption to the Ravens. They then used that open roster spot to sign a rookie who went undrafted, North Carolina linebacker Kaimon Rucker. Advertisement The 23-year-old finished his final season with the Tar Heels with six sacks, eight tackles for loss, and even an interception. That versatility was enough for the reigning AFC North champions to take a chance on him. It might have been a bit of an unorthodox way to get to an NFL team, but Rucker will be looking to prove that Baltimore did not make a mistake jumping through all of the hoops they did in order to sign him. Related: Ravens May Have Found a Diamond in the Rough Related: Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen Headlines Fantasy Debates
