Will Laurent Duvernay-Tardif remain with New York Jets?

When the Kansas City Chiefs unloaded Laurent Duvernay-Tardif‘s salary in a trade shortly before the league’s deadline in early November, the move itself was a minor blip on the radar for nearly every team in the NFL—including the Chiefs.

The deal was a rather unceremonious ending to a very impressive career and one of the single best persons to ever don a Chiefs uniform. Yet given the frenzy of a deadline and the lack of real star power, the trade was announced and then likely forgotten by most parties, even those in Chiefs Kingdom.

But looking at the deal from the perspective of the New York Jets, the very team that traded for him, the acquisition looks like a solid get, and it’s quite possible that it carries over into the next year if both sides truly like what they see—which is how things seem so far.

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif sounds interested in being back with the Jets in 2022.

The Jets traded tight end Daniel Brown for Duvernay-Tardif before the league’s trade deadline but the Chiefs were pretty quick to release Brown after the deal and the veteran ended up back with the Jets. it was a circular deal that looked lopsided on paper, but the truth is that the Chiefs had to do something with LDT on the bench and the money saved in cap space helped them make other moves.

As we said, it was a minor deal.

But for the Jets, the LDT addition has felt like something bigger. For the willingness to take on the $1M or so cap hit, the Jets have received a great leader, a helpful teammate, and a reliable starter at a position of need. After making his first few snaps in a Jets uniform in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, Duvernay-Tardif has suited up as the starter at right guard for five straight games.

In the locker room, Duvernay-Tardif is a positive teammate and leader. Fellow lineman Morgan Moses spoke with reporters about LDT’s presence last month and said, “The dude is a doctor, man. Like that’s crazy, bro … I think he’s a great guy. Obviously, you know what he’s done off the field has been amazing.”

Duvernay-Tardif held a no-trade clause with the Chiefs and if he was content on riding out the season on the bench, then it was possible he could have just stayed in K.C. to chase a ring and be comfortable. Instead, he allowed K.C. to move him to a team that would give him a chance to play, and it sounds like he made the right call. Check out what LDT said to reporters about the stretch run for the Jets.

"“,Finishing strong is putting all that together and playing a good game without the big mistakes. While the results are not there yet, he says today’s small gains will pay off in the long run. Win three of the next four games (and) for sure guys are going to be confident when we come (into) the 2022 season next September,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “That’s just the way it is.”"

That sort of quote sounds like a guy who is coming back next season, but Duvernay-Tardif is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next March. He could have stayed in K.C. and then hit the road as a potential starter somewhere else. Instead, he wanted instant playing time this season and it sounds as if he’s hungry to be a part of the rebuild with Robert Saleh going forward.

Will the Jets keep LDT around next year? Getting a starter for nothing but a bit of cap space was a good move to help stabilize the offense front in 2021, but it also sounds as if the Jets are clued into the value of Duvernay-Tardif into the next year, too.