Much has been written about the NFL future of Welsh superstar Louis Rees-Zammit’s pivot from union to the gridiron. One potential benefit has been largely looked over.
With the 2028 Olympics set for Los Angeles, could we see the former British and Irish Lion suit up for his country in flag football?
Flag football will be on the docket after the USA requested the game be added. In many ways, the NFL is trying to do for flag what World Rugby did for 7s: take a game previously used for training and elevate it to a second variation of the sport.
The five-per-side version of gridiron removes the physicality of the game and increases the emphasis on speed and agility. While LRZ may struggle to fit into the NFL, he could use his truly special athletic prowess to make noise in flag.
Consider LRZ’s likely NFL position: punt and kick returns. He likely can’t block well enough to be a running back and lacks the size to stay fit in the long run. It’ll take a significant amount of time to learn the nuisances of wide receiver. And if he moved to the defensive secondary, he’d need all that knowledge plus how to actually defend it. In flag, he play in the back field, since there’s no blocking in the traditional sense, or run routes close to the line of scrimmage. Basically, find ways to get the ball to him and let him do crazy stuff.
That might not be the biggest selling point to an NFL that has to devote a normal practice squad spot to the Welshman after his first year. (Undrafted International Player Pathway Program players can sign with a practice squad without impacting the regular sixteen player limit in their first year.) After all, why spend a spot on a guy with so little gridiron background when there’s such a deep pool of prospects available on the market?
That’s where LRZ’s nationality really matters.
While NFL rosters are based on getting the best players in the world, Olympic rosters are restricted to countrymen. Flag rosters are only twelve deep, but a player like LRZ spending the next four seasons in an NFL environment could give him a major leg up to represent Great Britain in the games.
Frankly, where are they getting the other eleven guys?
None of that means he’ll make the cut. He’ll need to hang around in an NFL environment long enough to develop and not switch back to union. But if he stays the course, don’t be stunned to see him with flags around his waist summer 2028.
RugbyFootballTalk 