Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is keeping his promise to himself that he would earn his medical degree even with the busy schedule of being an NFL player.
It’d be easy to think of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif’s story as an interesting anecdote. The French-Canadian has been in medical school at the same time that he’s been playing his first few years in the NFL, which makes for an interesting feature for fans, the doctor-player role that makes him stand apart from others in the NFL. But for LDT, it’s much more than that.
Even after signing a new five-year extension earlier this offseason, Duvernay-Tardif remains committed to completing his education and earning his M.D. from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. While other NFL players often struggle with their identity after they’ve finished up their playing career, the Chiefs right guard has maintained a steady focus on his passion for medicine.
“The contract for me is huge,” says Duvernay-Tardif from OTAs on Wednesday. “I’m super happy about it and it’s a great vote of confidence from the Chiefs. But at the end of the day, the plan is to become a doctor. I promised myself I would finish my M.D. and I’m on schedule to finish it next offseason.”
Instead of relaxing after earning his extension, Duvernay-Tardif has been busy preparing for exams and putting in his clinical hours. He describes his offseason as “intense” and says he’s been busy learning as much as ever.
“It’s been pretty intense,” he says. “I was back in Montreal a week after we lost against the Steelers. I started medical school. I did two months of emergency medicine and one month of geriatric medicine. I passed my exam and everything. Like the year before, Coach Reid has been really flexible with my schedule. He really understands what I’m trying to do, so I was able to report almost three weeks later at the beginning of phase two but I got a good chunk done and I’m getting closer to graduate, so that’s cool.”
While he’s not sure what he will do in terms of using his degree once he’s finished, Duvernay-Tardif is determined to keep his options open. For now, the primary thing is finishing up his degree, which means one more major exam stands in his way.
“I’m pretty much done with the clinical part of medical school,” says Duvernay-Tardif. “I’ve just got to study for the exam. The big exam is next May for me, so I’ve got eight months to study. Of course, I won’t be studying during the season, but when the season’s over, I’ll have three months to study for that and then I’ll be done.”