From rugby league to the NFL: rookie loving each day despite Patriots’ woe

Jotham Russell switched from Tweed Heads Seagulls to the Pats’ practice squad and dreams of making the grade

By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required

Desperate to find breakthrough international stars, NFL talent scouts seem to have found two avenues well worth pursuing. Of the athletes in the league’s International Player Pathway (IPP) in 2024 and 2025, the latter group was announced last week, around half were rugby players of both codes from Australia or athletes with Nigerian heritage. In Jotham Russell, the NFL have both.

A year ago, Russell was pursuing his rugby league career at Tweed Heads Seagulls in Queensland’s Hastings Deering Colts competition. Identified as a potential NFL player, by January he was at trials for the IPP program at the IMG Academy in Florida. The Australian with Nigerian heritage survived the Rookie Camp in May and pre-season to sign for New England Patriots’ practice squad, watching an NFL game from the sidelines for the first time when the Pats lost to Jacksonville at Wembley in October. It has been a bewildering whirlwind.