Laurent Duvernay-Tardif will contemplate future in football this offseason

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has always stood in the gap between one professional calling and another. His physical gifts and mental toughness have given him a rare path to play at the highest level of professional football. His mind and interests have him educated, trained, and ready to enter the world of medicine when his playing days are over.

After finishing his sixth season in the NFL (among seven total years), Duvernay-Tardif says he’s going to need some time to think about what’s next this offseason.

Duvernay-Tardif spoke to reporters for the New York Jets after the conclusion of the team’s season, and it was clear the good doctor wasn’t quite sure what to make of his future path. While most players, especially older ones or those dealing with injury, must ask pivotal questions at the end of every season, Duvernay-Tardif’s queries are different than most. The medical demands actually require steps from him in the offseason to stay in that world.

"“Honestly, everything is on the table right now,” said Duvernay-Tardif. “I think, for me, it’s important also to look at my future as a physician. There are some deadlines, there is some issues that I got to work out with the medical faculty, with the licensing back home in Canada, to make sure that I’m not having to restart that eight-year process that I went through. So, I’m going to get those answers and then I’ll start looking at my options from the football perspective.”"

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif says there’s a lot to think about this offseason concerning his future.

This is not the first time that Duvernay-Tardif’s medical considerations came into conflict with his love for the game of football. In 2020, LDT became the first player to officially opt out when the National Football League allowed players the chance to sit out a season due to the spread of COVID-19. Every contract was simply delayed for a year, and Duvernay-Tardif used that time to return to his native Quebec and serve with other medical personnel in the trenches to help treat a spreading coronavirus.

When Duvernay-Tardif returned in 2021, the Chiefs were in the midst of a complete overhaul of the front line. LDT returned to make the team, but he was often a healthy scratch on game day after losing his job to rookie lineman Trey Smith at right guard. Duvernay-Tardif would waive his no-trade clause at the NFL’s trade deadline when the Jets came calling with a bit of extra cash for the Chiefs cap as well as veteran tight end Daniel Brown (who would eventually be released and return back to New York).

After he joined the Jets, it wasn’t long until Duvernay-Tardif cemented himself back onto a line as a starting right guard. LDT started every snap at right guard in six of his last seven games. Given his familiarity and experience with the team, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jets wanted him back to compete for a starting spot next year on a line with plus young talent like Mekhi Becton and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

The good news is that the Jets’ early end of the season means Duvernay-Tardif has a bit more time to think about what he wants to do before key NFL deadlines begin to arrive. If he wants to discussing re-signing with the Jets, then he can have those conversations before New York turns its full attention to free agency.

At some point, when Duvernay-Tardif decides to hang it up and focus completely on the medical side of his career, he will be celebrated as one of the most intriguing and inspiring stories to come through the NFL in the last decade—a good player and a great man.