KC Chiefs: How did opting out of season affect returning players?

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL

Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to opt out in the NFL and did so for medical reasons, in the hopes he could join the front lines and utilize his training as a doctor to serve with other personnel treating COVID-19 patients in his native Montreal. LDT was lauded as a hero for his decision and deservedly so. He made the right decision and it was an admirable one to step away for a year despite leaving a Super Bowl contender.

That said, there are professional ramifications to any decision and that means Duvernay-Tardif is back in Kansas City hoping to reclaim a starting role at right guard that was taken over by Andrew Wylie in his absence. The Chiefs came into the offseason hoping to completely rebuild the offensive line, and the right side looks like the team is willing to allow competition to make the final choices in the preseason.

At right guard, the Chiefs now have LDT competing with Wylie, who is returning for one more season as a restricted free agent, as well as veteran free agent signing Kyle Long and rookie Trey Smith. The Chiefs got a sleeper in the draft in Smith, who was a star at Tennessee but slipped in the 2021 draft due to medical concerns, although Chiefs officials say the team felt fine with his medical history of blood clots. As for Long, he was lured out of retirement and is currently injured, but his history as a Pro Bowl performer keeps him as someone to watch.

Would LDT come into this season as the assumed starter if he’d stayed? What about the team’s desperation to remake the line? No one can know the answer to these questions, but the year away has undoubtedly clouded the picture for both Duvernay-Tardif’s roster spot and the competition at right guard overall.