Former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing Louis Rees-Zammit is reportedly set to join reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 23-year-old stunned the world of rugby in January by quitting the sport in an attempt to secure a contract with an NFL team in 2024, and his dream could soon come true.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some other multi-talented sports stars.

Denis Compton (cricket and football)

Compton played 75 Test matches for England, making his debut in 1937 aged 19 and scoring his first century the following year against Don Bradman’s touring Australian side.

He had made his Arsenal debut in 1936 and went on to win the league title in 1948 and FA Cup in 1950 with the Gunners, the same year in which he helped Middlesex win the County Championship.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias (athletics, golf)

Zaharias also excelled at basketball and baseball, but initially made her name in track and field, winning two gold medals and one silver in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Zaharias won the javelin comfortably, took the 80 metres hurdles in a world-record time and finished equal first in the high jump before losing the title when her technique was deemed illegal.

A latecomer to golf, she won more than 50 titles, including the US Women’s Open three times, and co-founded the LPGA.

Lottie Dod (tennis, golf, archery)

Lottie Dod remains Wimbledon’s youngest women’s singles champion, winning the first of her five titles at just 15 years and 285 days old in 1887.

Later turning her attention to golf, she won the 1904 British Ladies Amateur title and four years later won a silver medal in archery at the Olympic Games in London, where her brother Willy claimed gold in the men’s event.

Jim Thorpe (athletics, American football, baseball, basketball)

The first Native American to win gold for the United States in the Olympics, Thorpe won both the pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm in 1912.

He lost his titles after it emerged he had previously been paid for playing semi-professional baseball, but they were eventually reinstated by the International Olympic Committee.

Thorpe played six seasons in Major League Baseball and for six NFL teams, as well as enjoying a less-well documented spell in professional basketball.

Victoria Pendleton (cycling and horse racing)

Two-time Olympic champion track cyclist Victoria Pendleton announced in March 2015 that she had set her sights on riding in the following year’s Cheltenham Festival.

She made her competitive debut in August 2015 and won her first race, on March 2, 2016, on 5-4 favourite Pacha Du Polder at Wincanton.

Pendleton then achieved her stated aim of riding in the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham and finished fifth, describing the result as “probably the greatest achievement of my life”.

Former Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit has signed for Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs, according to a report in the United States.

Rees-Zammit is set to join the Chiefs’ practice squad, having impressed during his time on the NFL’s international player pathway.

The 23-year-old’s signing is expected to be confirmed on Friday, with running back and wide receiver his designated positions.

The move comes after he visited several NFL franchises, including the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos.

Rees-Zammit’s next goal is to win a place on the Chiefs’ final roster for the new season, joining their star players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in targeting a third-successive Super Bowl.

The Gloucester, Wales and Lions wing stunned the world of rugby in January by quitting the sport in an attempt to secure a contract with an NFL team in 2024.

That dream moved a step closer when he impressed during last week’s pro day that forms part of the international player pathway.

Rees-Zammit clocked 4.43 seconds in his 40-yard dash, a 9ft 7in broad jump and 29-inch vertical jump.

After tallying the fewest sacks in the NFL in 2023, the Carolina Panthers have upgraded their pass rush.

The Panthers signed Jadeveon Clowney to a two-year, $20million deal with a max value of $24million on Wednesday.

The top overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, Clowney has bounced around from team to team the past few seasons as it looked like his best years were behind him.

The 31-year-old, however, is coming off a resurgent 2023.

Playing in all 17 games last season for the Baltimore Ravens, Clowney racked up 9 1/2 sacks - matching his career high from 2017.

He also registered 19 quarterback hits and 79 QB pressures - tied for seventh most in the NFL.

He joins a Carolina team that had a league-low 27 sacks last season and had the NFL's worst record at 2-15.

Clowney, who grew up about 20 minutes from the Panthers' home stadium, spent his first five pro seasons with the Houston Texans before spending the last five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Ravens.

From 2019-2022 in his first four seasons since leaving Houston, he totaled just 14 sacks.

In 126 career games, he has 52 1/2 sacks, 128 QB hits and 15 forced fumbles.

 

The Tennessee Titans are finalising a deal to acquire cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a pair of draft picks, according to multiple sources.

The Chiefs are expected to receive a third-round pick in next year's draft and swap picks with the Titans in next month's draft. The two sides are working on a new contract to make Sneed one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NHL history.

After the Chiefs placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on Sneed earlier this month, he was allowed to talk to other teams, who could then work out a deal with Kansas City.

The 27-year-old Sneed has developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the league since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2020. He was a key part of a defence that helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

Sneed allowed a passer rating of just 55.9 on throws when he was in coverage in the regular season, ranking fifth best among cornerbacks.

Often tasked with following the opponents’ top receiver all over the field, Sneed didn’t allow a single touchdown pass until the playoffs against Buffalo and only Davante Adams of the Raiders had more than two catches in a game when Sneed was in coverage.

He had two interceptions and 14 passes defended in 16 games last season, giving him 10 picks and 40 passes defended in his four-year career.

Mike Williams is going from the west coast of the United States to the country's east coast.

Williams is signing a one-year contract with the New York Jets worth up to $15million.

The deal was reported Tuesday by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

The Los Angeles Chargers released Williams last Wednesday to free up $20million in salary cap space.

Going into the final year of a 2022 contract extension that included $40million in guaranteed money, Williams missed most of last season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 3.

He'll now be teaming up with a quarterback who missed essentially all of 2023 after Aaron Rodgers ruptured his left Achilles tendon on the Jets' fourth offensive snap of the season.

Rodgers' injury derailed what was hoping to be a promising season for the Jets, as they ended up rotating through three more starting quarterbacks and finished 7-10 to miss the play-offs.

New York has the NFL's longest active streak of missing the play-offs at 13 seasons.

Williams had spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers after being selected seventh overall in the 2017 draft.

His best season came in 2021, when he had career highs of 76 receptions for 1,146 yards, along with nine touchdowns.

In 88 career games, Williams has 309 catches for 4,806 yards with 31 TDs.

 

Aaron Rodgers' impact upon the New York Jets transcends his contribution on the field, says team-mate Quincy Williams, who has lauded the quarterback's "huge" influence.

The Jets are still awaiting an on-field impact from Rodgers, who was expected to lead the team into title contention after arriving from the Green Bay Packers but saw his 2023 season end in Week 1. 

Rodgers, a 10-time Pro Bowler, tore his Achilles tendon on just his fourth snap in Jets colours, finishing his only game of 2023 0-for-1 passing in a 22-16 defeat to the Buffalo Bills.  

Replacement QB Zach Wilson struggled through the remainder of the season as the Jets finished 7-10, but Williams says Rodgers still exerted a big influence in the dressing room.

"It's been a huge impact," Williams said of his veteran team-mate. "Let's be honest, he wanted those gold jacket guys soon, that's the most important thing.

"Anything he tells you, [you take] as constructive criticism. You write it down thinking about it because he'll come up to you in the middle of practice like: 'Hey this is what I'm looking at, what do you think about this?' 

"He's one of those open people where you can also go to him and say, 'I've got a question about the game plan', even if it's offense or defense.

"The most important thing is he advises about being a pro off the field, nutrition wise, on training and things like mental health, things you want to focus on so you can be better during the season."

Though Rodgers was unable to make an impact for the Jets on the field, Williams left his own mark and was rewarded with the first All-Pro selection of his career. 

That achievement capped a remarkable turnaround for the linebacker, who put his injury struggles behind him to appear in all 17 Jets games in 2023.

"I would describe it as a rollercoaster," Williams said. "The change from this year to last year was just me buying in.

"I came from a small school at Murray State and got drafted third round, then I ran into a lot of injuries in Jacksonville.

"I got cut from the Jaguars but got a great opportunity from the Jets to come and play with them, and also to play with my brother [Quinnen Williams].

"The season didn't go [to plan] but, most importantly, we faced the adversity. Everyone was on the same page.

"I wouldn't change the rollercoaster I was on because of the people I was with; those are my team-mates, my brother, and also my coaching staff."

This International Women's Day, the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears announced the expansion of the Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag League, the first UK all-girls competition of its kind. To learn more about the initiative, please visit www.chicagobears.com and https://nyjetsinuk.com/girls-flag.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are acquiring quarterback Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick that could turn into a fourth-round selection based on playing time, according to multiple reports on Saturday.

Pittsburgh recently acquired veteran quarterback Russell Wilson from the Denver Broncos on Wednesday and traded 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. Pickett expressed a desire to be traded after Wilson agreed to a one-year deal with the team.

With Wilson expected to be the starter, Fields will be relegated to a backup role where he can learn from the nine-time Pro Bowler.

Schefter reports that the pick could turn into a fourth rounder if Fields plays 51 percent of the snaps.

Fields had been the subject of trade rumours throughout the offseason, with the Bears holding the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft. With USC QB Caleb Williams the expected selection, Fields figured to be on the move at some point.

Fields has made 38 starts and appeared in 40 games for Chicago since he was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He completed 60.3 percent of his passes with 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions and added 14 rushing scores.

Fields ran for 1,143 yards in 2022 while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

Inconsistency was an issue for Fields during his time with the Bears, but he and the team ended last season on a high note with four wins in their final six games to finish 7-10. During that span, he completed 60 percent of his throws with four passing TDs, three interceptions and three rushing touchdowns.

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, considered one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, has announced his immediate retirement from playing.

Donald, who turns 33 in May, played for 10 seasons in the NFL, all of them with the Rams, and helped the team win the Super Bowl in 2022.

“Cheers to what’s next,” Donald wrote on social media platform X. “Extending a big thank you to the Rams and all of the fans for your support.”

The timing of the announcement from Donald, one of three players to have been named the NFL’s defensive player of the year three times, has come as a surprise.

The Rams took Donald with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 draft and he was named defensive rookie of the year in his first season.

Donald helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl in 2019, only to suffer a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots, but they returned three years later and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.

The eight-time All-Pro selection finishes his career with 117 sacks, having become the fastest defensive tackle to reach 100 sacks in NFL history.

“Throughout my career, I have given my everything to football both mentally and physically – 365 days a year was dedicated to becoming the best possible player I could be,” Donald added.

“I respected this game like no other and I’m blessed to be able to conclude my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me. Not many people get drafted to a team, win a world championship with that team and retire with that team. I do not, and will not, take that for granted.”

Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday, ending one of the most decorated careers in league history for a defensive player.

The three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year announced his decision on social media, thanking the Rams organisation and the Kroenke family.

“I’m thankful for the people I’ve met along the way, the relationships I’ve built and the things I’ve accomplished with my teammates and individually,” Donald said in his post.

Donald was drafted 13th overall in 2014 by the St. Louis Rams and was already one of the team’s best players when the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 2016.

Donald was selected to the Pro Bowl after each of his 10 NFL seasons, all with the Rams, and he was voted an All-Pro eight times. He was also a driving force in Los Angeles’ 2021 play-off run and had two sacks in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I’m blessed to be able to conclude my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me,” Donald said in his post. “Not many people get drafted to a team, win a World Championship with that team and retire with that team.

“I do not, and will not, take that for granted.”

At 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, Donald fell in the draft due to his lack of size for an interior lineman, but his rare combination of quickness and strength made him a disruptive force almost immediately.

Donald was voted Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 after accumulating nine sacks and 18 tackles for loss in just 12 starts.

Donald was voted the league's top defender after the 2017, 2018 and 2020 seasons, and his 20.5 sacks in 2018 rank among the top 11 seasons ever for a pass-rusher.

In 154 career games, Donald tallied 111 sacks, 176 tackles for loss and 24 forced fumbles.

The Los Angeles Chargers have traded veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.

The move gives the Bears, who own the top overall pick in next month’s draft, a reliable weapon to line up opposite DJ Moore.

While Chicago has not announced their plans for the No. 1 pick, most assume that they will select USC’s Caleb Williams. Pairing Allen with Moore could set the rookie quarterback up for success.

Darnell Mooney was the Bears’ No. 2 receiver last season, but he signed a three-year, $39million deal with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week.

Allen, who will turn 32 next month, was selected to his sixth career Pro Bowl last season and has made 683 catches since 2017. Only Davante Adams (709) has more over that span.

After an injury-shortened 2022 campaign, Allen bounced back last season with 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games.

Allen, a renowned route-runner, proved his worth last season, but the Chargers reportedly asked the veteran to take a pay cut this year. After no deal could be struck, Los Angeles entered the trade market.

Trading Allen – along with his $34.7million cap hit – is the Chargers’ latest cost-cutting move after releasing fellow wide receiver Mike Williams and restructuring the contracts of pass-rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.

Los Angeles also lost Austin Ekeler in free agency after the running back signed with the Washington Commanders.

The Chargers will need to find more weapons for franchise quarterback Justin Herbert and will hope that speedy wide receiver Quentin Johnston, last year’s first-round pick, develops this offseason.

Allen played 11 seasons for the Chargers. His 904 receptions and 10,530 receiving yards both rank second in franchise history, trailing only Antonio Gates.

The first day of the new league year in the NFL brought about several transactions on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Chargers released one of their longest-tenured players, the Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with the big-name quarterback they acquired last off-season and the Miami Dolphins cut their four-time Pro Bowl cornerback.

The Chargers released wide receiver Mike Williams to free up $20million in salary cap space.

Going into the final year of a 2022 contract extension that included $40million in guaranteed money, Williams missed nearly all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 3.

The seventh overall pick of the 2017 draft, Williams had spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers.

His best season came in 2021, when he had career highs of 76 receptions for 1,146 yards, along with nine touchdowns.

 

The Raiders released Jimmy Garoppolo and receiver Hunter Renfrow in a pair of widely expected moves.

Garoppolo signed a three-year, $72.75million contract with Las Vegas last season, but was benched after making just six starts.

Last month, he received a two-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

The Raiders agreed to a deal earlier this week with Gardner Minshew, who will compete with Aidan O'Connell for the starting quarterback job.

Renfrow put together a huge season in 2021, catching 103 passes for 1,038 yards to earn a two-year contract extension worth $31.7million, but he's managed just 61 receptions for 585 yards and two TDs in the last two years combined.

 

The Dolphins released Xavien Howard, who is tied for fourth in franchise history with 29 interceptions.

Howard, who had spent his entire eight-year NFL career with Miami, led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 2020 and was named a first-team All-Pro.

The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, added a pair of players, signing wide receiver Calvin Ridley, as well as quarterback Mason Rudolph.

Ridley signed a four-year, $92million contract after finishing with 76 receptions for 1,016 yards with eight touchdowns while starting 17 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.

Rudolph had spent the past four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, going 8-4-1 in 13 starts. He won the final three regular-season games last season to lead the Steelers to a play-off berth.

 

Derrick Henry has a new home.

The four-time Pro Bowl running back has agreed to a two-year, $16million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.

The deal includes $9million in guaranteed money and can be worth up to $20million, according to reports.

Henry, a two-time NFL rushing champion and the 2020 AP Offensive Player of the Year, now joins a Ravens team that reached the AFC conference championship game this past season behind two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson.

The 30-year-old Henry, who had spent each of his first eight pro seasons with the Tennessee Titans, is coming off somewhat of a down year by his standards with 1,167 rushing yards and an average of 4.2 yards per attempt in 2023. However, he still led the NFL with 280 carries and was tied for seventh in the league with 12 rushing touchdowns.

The bruising back led the league in rushing in 2019 with 1,540 yards and became just the eighth player in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard rushing mark the following year when he ran for 2,027 yards - the fifth-highest total in a season - with a career-high 17 rushing touchdowns.

Henry’s 9,502 rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns are the most in the NFL since the Titans selected the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner in the second round of the 2016 draft.

Baltimore finished with the AFC's best record in 2023 despite being unsettled at running back with season-ending injuries to J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell.

Jackson has led Baltimore in rushing each of the last five seasons and the Ravens have only had one running back rush for 1,000 yards in the last 10 years.

Henry, meanwhile, has five 1,000-yard seasons, including each of the last two.

While Joe Mixon's time with the Cincinnati Bengals is over, he has a different means of departure.

The Bengals will now trade Mixon to the Houston Texans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

It was reported on Monday that Cincinnati was planning to release Mixon after it agreed to terms with free-agent running back Zack Moss, but by Tuesday the Texans offered to trade for the 2021 Pro Bowler.

It has not yet been reported what Houston is sending to the Bengals to complete the trade, which won't become official until the new league year begins on Wednesday.

By trading Mixon, who had spent his first seven NFL seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals will save $6.1million on their salary cap.

 

A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Mixon is coming off a season in which he started 17 games, rushing for 1,034 yards with nine touchdowns and another 376 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions for his fourth season with at least 1,400 scrimmage yards. 

Since his 2017 rookie season, Mixon and Christian McCaffrey are the only two players in the NFL with four seasons of at least 1,400 scrimmage yards.

Mixon had career highs of 1,205 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in 2021 for a Cincinnati team that reached the Super Bowl.

In 97 career games, he has 6,412 rushing yards, 2,139 receiving yards and 62 total TDs.

He now joins a Texans team that ranked 22nd in the NFL in rushing in 2023, averaging 96.9 yards per game on the ground.

The Minnesota Vikings potentially found their new quarterback on Tuesday while also adding a familiar face to the backfield.

The Vikings agreed to a one-year, $10million deal with signal-caller Sam Darnold after losing Kirk Cousins on the first day of free agency and brought in former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones for one year and $7million.

After Cousins agreed to a reported four-year contract worth up to $180million with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Minnesota quickly added Darnold and will give the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft a chance to earn the starting job.

Darnold has appeared in 66 career games with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers,

In 56 starts, Darnold has posted a 21-35 record while throwing 62 touchdown passes and 55 interceptions.

Jones stays in the NFC North after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Packers, who released him on Monday after agreeing to terms with former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs.

A dual threat out of the backfield, Jones has rushed for 5,940 yards and 45 touchdowns in 97 career games while adding 2,076 receiving yards and 18 touchdown catches.

Jones’ 63 scrimmage touchdowns since entering the NFL in 2017 are the ninth-most in the league during that span.

The Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Gardner Minshew have agreed to a two-year, $25million contract, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

Minshew, whose contract will reportedly include $15million fully guaranteed, is expected to compete with second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell for the starting job.

The NFL’s free agency negotiating period began Monday, with deals not to be finalised until the league year begins on Wednesday.

A sixth-round pick in 2019, Minshew became the Indianapolis Colts’ starter last season once Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5.

Minshew kept the Colts afloat in the AFC South and led them to a 9-8 record.

Formerly with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles, Minshew has played 49 career games, throwing for 9,937 yards, 59 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

The Raiders entered last season with Jimmy Garoppolo starting under center, but then-interim coach Antonio Pierce benched the veteran for O’Connell, who won three of his final four starts.

The Raiders hired Pierce as a full-time head coach earlier this offseason and are hoping he can help the franchise win its first play-off game since the 2002 season.

Earlier Monday, former Las Vegas running back Josh Jacobs agreed to a contract with the Green Bay Packers.