Chiefs’ newest player Louis Rees-Zammit officially assigned position, jersey number and he’s set to begin NFL journey with Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs welcomed Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit to the team on Friday.

He officially inked his three-year contract with the reigning Super Bowl champions, getting a warm welcome to Kansas City. In addition to signing his deal with the team, Rees-Zammit was also officially assigned a position and jersey number.

There has been some debate about where he’ll line up and play in the NFL as he’s been training to play both running back and wide receiver in the International Player Pathway program. He’ll officially be listed as a running back on the team roster in Kansas City, joining the likes of Isiah Pacheco and La’Mical Perine in the Chiefs’ backfield. Rees-Zammit also was able to pick out a jersey number, choosing the No. 9. The team initially shared a photo in a post on X, but they’ve since deleted it. Thankfully, an X user named Mr. Mango Man snagged the photo.

Running backs are allowed to wear jersey numbers 0-49 and 80-89 as of the 2023 NFL season. Rees-Zammit will be the third running back in Kansas City to wear a single-digit jersey number, joining Jerick McKinnon (No. 1) and Ronald Jones (No. 2).

As far as what this number might mean to the newest member of the Chiefs, it’s not yet clear. Rees-Zammit wore No. 14 for Wales when he played rugby. He wore the same number at the IMG Academy as he trained for the IPP program. His father, Joseph Zammit, wore No. 89 when he played for the Cardiff Tigers in the 1980s, so perhaps it’s a little nod to his dad.

The most recent player to wear No. 9 for Kansas City was backup QB Blaine Gabbert, who is still a free agent. That decision might suggest that Gabbert won’t return to the Chiefs in 2024, which is a whole different conversation. Besides that, there is WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, who wore it during the 2022 NFL season. The most notable player in franchise history to wear the jersey number was Bill Kenney, who wore it from 1980-1988 as the starting quarterback of the Chiefs.