The Kansas City Chiefs made an intriguing signing on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report:

“Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit will be signing with the Chiefs on Friday, per sources. After working out and impressing Kansas City’s staff earlier this week, they have agreed on terms. I’m told Rees-Zammit will be playing RB/WR.”

Schultz goes on to explain that the Chiefs weren't the only team with interest in Rees-Zammit:

“Louis Rees-Zammit fielded interest from quite a few NFL teams — also visiting the Jets, Browns and Broncos. Enticing signing for the Chiefs to land LRZ, who’s only 23 years old.”

As to why the Chiefs were interested in making the signing, Schultz gives a good reason:

Louis Rees-Zammit returning rugby-style kickoffs for the Chiefs?

League owners recently approved changes to the NFL kickoff rules.

Kickoffs will remain at the 35-yard line, but the remaining 10 players for the kicking team will line up at the opponent’s 40-yard line, which is the “kickoff start line.” The receiving team will be able to have at least seven players in the “setup zone,” which is a 5-yard area between their own 35-yard and 30-yard lines.

There is also the landing zone, which is between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line. The ball bouncing in the landing zone would prompt action off of the NFL kickoff.

Any kick that hits in the landing zone has to be returned, and any kick that hits before the landing zone would result in a touchback to the 40, which is the same as if a kick went out of bounds in the past. That change has an effect on squib kicks.

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If a kick hits the landing zone and rolls into the end zone and is downed, it is a touchback to the 20-yard line. If a kick lands in the end zone or goes out of the back, it's a touchback to the 35-yard line instead of 25, which is what the spot was previously. Fair-catch signals are not allowed.

For onside kicks, the trailing team will have the opportunity to declare an onside kick to the officials, where current rules would apply.

All of this adds up to a kickoff that's more similar to the XFL or even rugby, which is why the Chiefs' signing of Louis Rees-Zammit is so intriguing.

When reading all of the details of the new kickoff rule, the NFL’s goal is to clearly increase the number of returns while keeping the number of injuries to a minimum. Over the years, the tweaking of the kickoff rules to decrease injuries have resulted in a stark decline in number of returns, so this is a way for the league to try to bring excitement back to the kickoff while still prioritizing player safety.