Former Chiefs tight end re-signs with New York Jets

On Tuesday, the New York Jets re-signed a familiar face in tight end Daniel Brown with an official addition to the practice squad. It’s the sort of minor move that might not make any real waves on a national level, or even in New York, but for the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s makes it quite clear that the Jets were officially able to secure Laurent Duvernay-Tardif‘s services for absolutely nothing.

The fact that the Chiefs dealt their longtime starting right guard for financial reasons is no secret. After all, they flipped Duvernay-Tardif shortly before the NFL’s trade deadline in early November to New York for Brown and nothing more, which was itself a “lopsided” deal on paper. But the loss of Brown back to the Jets further completes the circle and confirms that the Chiefs were simply glad to free up a bit more cap space—approximately $1 million—for themselves going forward.

For the majority of this season, Duvernay-Tardif sat on the active roster as a healthy scratch, a player who was technically available but so far down the depth chart that the Chiefs didn’t need at the ready.

The Jets have re-signed tight end Daniel Brown which confirms the Chiefs traded LDT for cap space.

Duvernay-Tardif returned this season after serving on the front lines with other medical workers as the COVID-19 pandemic spread in its early stages. He was the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season but he was also determined to come back and play football again in hopes of reclaiming his starting spot along the front line.

Unfortunately for LDT, the Chiefs had stocked the shelves considerably after wiping the slate clean last offseason. Trey Smith was drafted and immediately claimed the starting guard spot manned for years by Duvernay-Tardif. Behind him, they signed Austin Blythe to help back up center and guard and took a chance on Kyle Long as well. They also re-signed Mike Remmers to join Andrew Wylie and Nick Allegretti. They even had Yasir Durant at one point before trading him as well to the New England Patriots.

Duvernay-Tardif observed in his first week with the Jets, but he’s taken over the starting role in each of the last two weeks in New York in a loss to the Miami Dolphins and a win over the Houston Texans.