Former rugby star Rees-Zammit 'loving every moment' as he tries to crack Jaguars roster

WATFORD, England (AP) — A day after rubbing shoulders with Prince William, Louis Rees-Zammit was back to work with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Welshman is on the Jaguars' practice squad as a wide receiver after he had initially signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a running back.

A position switch and dropping from NFL royalty to a struggling team hasn’t fazed the 23-year-old Rees-Zammit.

“I’m loving every moment being in this league,” he said at a news conference Wednesday ahead of Jacksonville’s game against the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium in a matchup of 1-5 teams.

Rees-Zammit, who participated in drills with the receivers and on special teams, was one of the world's most exciting rugby players when he quit the sport in January to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

A longtime football fan, Rees-Zammit then signed with the two-time defending Super Bowl champions but ultimately didn't make Kansas City's roster.

New team, new playbook — same goal.

“I’m just working hard every day to try and do what I can do to get an opportunity. Whenever that comes then I'm going to take it with both hands,” he said.

He refers to the playbook frequently.

“It’s taken a lot of my time because I want to try and learn this as quick as possible to be able to go out there and not have to think on a play,” he said. “I just want to be able to play fast and kind of know everything.”

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said practice squad players “are a play or two away from being elevated to the roster.” He urged Rees-Zammit to “continue to work and embrace his role.”

“We love his skill set, his talent, his speed, his physicality,” Pederson said. “He’s got great size. Just learn, just continue to learn, and just be patient, opportunity will come.”

Rees-Zammit was on hand for Jacksonville’s 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He chatted pregame with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. From a marketing perspective, the league would love for Rees-Zammit to make it big as part of the NFL’s push for international growth.

Rees-Zammit said being a wide receiver “allows me to use my speed a lot more" than at running back.

“I've got to just focus on the small details," he said, "and then wait for an opportunity to come.”

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Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit (84), right, practices at The Grove in Watford, England, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit speaks after an NFL football practice session at The Grove in Watford, England, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit speaks after an NFL football practice session at The Grove in Watford, England, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain's Prince William, right, poses with Louis Rees-Zammit, holding a NFL shirt as he attends a NFL Foundation NFL Flag event, an inclusive and fast paced American Football format, in London, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)

Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit (84) practices at The Grove in Watford, England, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Louis Rees-Zammit (84), who is part of the practice squad, poses for a photo before an NFL football game at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears in London, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Wednesday following better-than-expected profit reports from Morgan Stanley, United Airlines and other big companies.

The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in afternoon trading, a day after sliding from its all-time high because of tumbling energy and technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 321 points, or 0.8%, as of 2:21 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

Morgan Stanley rallied 6.7% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ted Pick said the investment bank enjoyed a “constructive environment” in its businesses around the world. And with stock prices near records, it’s managing even more money for clients.

United Airlines flew 14.7% higher after reporting a milder drop in summer profit than expected and announcing plans to send up to $1.5 billion to its shareholders by buying back its stock. J.B. Hunt Transport Services motored up by 2.5% after the freight company delivered better-than-expected results.

They helped offset a 1.2% drop for Ulta Beauty. The retailer fell to one of the larger losses in the S&P 500 after giving long-term targets for growth in sales and other measures that analysts at Citi said suggested the U.S. beauty industry is more mature than it once was.

Energy stocks were holding steadier, including a 0.6% rise for Exxon Mobil, a day after sliding to some of the market’s worst losses.

They've been generally following the price of oil, which has fallen back as worries recede that Israel will attack Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation for Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere. Concerns about the strength of demand because of China's flagging economic growth have also hit oil prices.

U.S. technology stocks were also holding up better a day after a market-shaking warning from ASML, a Dutch supplier to the chip industry.

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said Tuesday that artificial intelligence continues to offer strong upside potential, but “other market segments are taking longer to recover.” That helped lead to slides of 3.5% for Broadcom and 4.7% for Nvidia on Tuesday. A day afterward, both were rising at least 1%, and Nvidia was the strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500.

Still, Wednesday offered the first chance for Asian stock markets to feel the ripples of ASML’s warning, and chip companies there tumbled.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% as chip maker Tokyo Electron sank 9.2% and Lasertec Corp., which makes equipment to inspect chips, lost 13.4%.

Stock indexes were mixed across the rest of Asia and Europe. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 1% after the government reported U.K. inflation eased in September to its lowest level in more than three years. That reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve has also already begun cutting interest rates following years of keeping them high in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle high inflation.

With inflation finally seeming to be heading toward the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank is widening its focus to include keeping the economy humming. Recent reports showing the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected have raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.01% from 4.03% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, slipped to 3.93% from 3.95%.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

The Charging Bull statue in New York's Financial District is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)