The NFL granted the Kansas City Chiefs their single allotted roster exemption for an international player on Wednesday, but it's not for the player you might have been expecting.
According to the NFL's personnel notice for Wednesday, the Chiefs received the Exempt/International designation for OT Jason "Chu" Godrick. The second-year offensive lineman spent the entire 2023 NFL season on the practice squad in Kansas City after being allocated to the team as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program during the 2023 offseason.
Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit joined the Chiefs through the very same program this offseason. Many expected him to be the team's exempt international player.
Keep in mind that the international exemption only counts during the offseason ahead of 53-man roster cuts. As part of a new rule in 2024, all NFL teams are allotted a 17th spot on the practice squad for international players. Those players can be elevated 3 times. However, no international exemption exists on the 53-man roster once the regular season begins.
What does this mean for Jason Godrick and Louis Rees-Zammit?
Right now, this has very little impact on the team. It was simply a matter of deciding which player they wanted to count against the 90-man offseason roster. Maybe that indicates they value Godrick higher than Rees-Zammit, but I wouldn't read too much into that aspect.
I feel this does signal a much greater likelihood that Godrick will end up on the practice squad again in 2024. If Rees-Zammit were to end up on the practice squad alongside Godrick, he wouldn't have that exempt spot available. Godrick is now eligible for that 17th practice squad spot again, where he can continue to develop (and be elevated three times in case of an injury).
There is quite a range of what this news could mean for Rees-Zammit. It could indicate that the team feels good about Rees-Zammit's chances of making the 53-man roster after early workouts in Texas with Patrick Mahomes and Phase I team meetings. It could also be that they're preparing for the eventuality that he's no longer with the team.
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