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Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Jets To Sign G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

November 17th, 2022 at 1:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a Wednesday workout, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is coming back to New York. The veteran guard took a second NFL hiatus to pursue his medical career, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) he is signing with the Jets for another go-round.

Duvernay-Tardif, 31, has spent most of his career with the Chiefs. He finished last season with the Jets, following a trade, but left football for a second time this offseason. The former sixth-round pick, who was the first player to exercise his COVID-19 opt-out right in 2020, will return to a Jets team that has seen some offensive line injuries change its plans this season.

An ACL tear shut down Alijah Vera-Tucker for the season. Drafted in the first round to play guard, Vera-Tucker had been working at tackle after the Jets experienced rampant health issues at that position. The player tabbed to take over inside for the second-year blocker, Nate Herbig, is now battling an injury as well. A shin issue sidelined Herbig at the Jets’ Wednesday practice.

This is a practice squad agreement, one that comes weeks after the Jets added Mike Remmers on a P-squad deal. Remmers moved up to Gang Green’s active roster soon. Duvernay-Tardif should be expected to follow suit. The Canadian lineman/doctor has been a regular starter in all but one season of his career.

A 2014 Chiefs draftee, Duvernay-Tardif broke into Kansas City’s starting lineup in his second season. The Chiefs later extended him, and Patrick Mahomes‘ initial O-lines featured the multitalented blocker at right guard. LDT has made 64 career starts.

Duvernay-Tardif started throughout the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV-winning season, but after his 2020 opt-out — aimed at helping fight the coronavirus in his native Canada — the team changed plans. Trey Smith, a sixth-rounder last year, took over that spot after the Chiefs filled their left guard role — with high-priced free agent Joe Thuney — earlier in 2021. The Chiefs traded Duvernay-Tardif to the Jets before last year’s deadline. He started seven of the eight games he played with the Jets last season.

After being dealt to a rebuilding Jets team last year, Duvernay-Tardif may be called upon to help a playoff contender. The 6-3 Jets, who are riding the NFL’s longest playoff drought (11 years), have Dan Feeney as a backup interior option behind Herbig and Laken Tomlinson. Duvernay-Tardif will now factor into this mix.

Jets To Work Out G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

November 16th, 2022 at 10:37am CST by Sam Robinson

Despite being a sixth-round pick, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been a starter for nearly his entire career. The former Chiefs draftee has traversed one of the more unusual career arcs in recent memory, twice taking hiatuses to pursue his medical career north of the border.

The Canadian lineman, however, appears ready to resume his football career. The Jets are interested in a reunion, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noting (via Twitter) Duvernay-Tardif is working out for the team Wednesday.

Duvernay-Tardif, 31, started in seven of the eight games he played as a Jet last season, moving into Gang Green’s lineup shortly after being acquired at the 2021 trade deadline. Extended breaks from the game sandwiched that Jets stay. Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to opt out of the 2020 season, returning to his native country to help during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. After his Jets stay wrapped in Week 18 of last season, the Quebec native said he was returning to the medical world.

“I’m going to prioritize medicine … and we’ll see in September if there’s a fit,” the 31-year-old said in June. “After eight years in the NFL, and I don’t want to sound pretentious by saying this, but I think I’ve earned the right to do what’s best for me and not just for football and kind of bet on myself a little bit.”

LDT also battled back from a broken hand last season. That, along with 2021 sixth-round rookie Trey Smith‘s move into Kansas City’s starting lineup, led to the veteran blocker being traded to the Jets. The Chiefs used Duvernay-Tardif as a regular starter from 2014-19. He started in each of Kansas City’s three playoff games during the team’s Super Bowl LIV-winning run, playing on an extension he signed back in 2017.

The Jets have been playing without Alijah Vera-Tucker for a few weeks now. The guard-turned-tackle is out for the season after suffering an ACL tear. New York added Laken Tomlinson from San Francisco in free agency and has used offseason acquisition Nate Herbig as its starter opposite Tomlinson. Robert Saleh said that Herbig will be held out of the Jets’ Wednesday practice, injecting some doubt about the guard’s availability for Week 11. Dan Feeney and Mike Remmers are currently the only backup O-linemen on the Jets’ active roster. That could change soon, with Max Mitchell being designated for return from IR and George Fant not ruled out for the season.

Both Fant and Mitchell are tackles. Duvernay-Tardif could supply some help on the interior. It will be interesting to see if he pivots from medicine back to football again.

Latest On FA OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

July 16th, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Adam La Rose

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif remains a free agent in the NFL, but an important transaction recently took place north of the border which could affect his future. The CFL’s Montreal Alouettes – his hometown team – acquired his rights in that league, per a club announcement. 

“We are happy to have proceeded with this transaction,” general manager Danny Maciocia said after the Alouettes traded for Duvernay-Tardif’s rights. “Laurent is a football icon in Montreal and Quebec.”

Last month, the 31-year-old made it clear that he would once again shift his focus to medicine this summer, something he did when he opted out of the 2020 campaign to attend to COVID-19 patients. He returned to the Chiefs last season, with whom he made consecutive Super Bowl appearances the two prior seasons he played in. As a pending free agent who had been supplanted as a starter at the right guard spot, though, he was traded to the Jets midseason.

“I’m going to prioritize medicine… and we’ll see in September if there’s a fit,” the former sixth-rounder said when explaining his decision, which did not constitute a retirement announcement. He added, “I’m really comfortable with the risk, and I’m pretty confident there’s going to be an offer on the table in September if I want it. And if I want it I’ll take it.”

A return to New York is unlikely for Duvernay-Tardif, as the Jets added Laken Tomlinson in free agency to pair with Alijah Vera-Tucker as the team’s starting guards. While his NFL suitors could be few and far between at this point in free agency, he would be welcomed back home in the CFL.

“We wish him the best success with his football career moving forward, and are satisfied knowing that if he does play in Canada, he will do so in a city and a stadium that he knows very well,” Maciocia added. “He would also finally be able to wear the letters M.D. on the back of his jersey like he has been wanting to do.”

If Duvernay-Tardif were to wait until September to make a decision, and no satisfactory NFL offers arrive, he could join the Alouettes midway through the CFL campaign, which runs until mid-November.

Latest On Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

June 9th, 2022 at 10:10am CST by Adam La Rose

Free agent guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is once again temporarily putting his NFL career on hold to focus on his other profession. The Canadian offensive lineman is set to enroll in a residency program at a hospital near Montreal this summer and will wait until the onset of the 2022 campaign to decide on his NFL future. 

“I’m going to prioritize medicine… and we’ll see in September if there’s a fit,” the 31-year-old said, via ESPN.com. “After eight years in the NFL, and I don’t want to sound pretentious by saying this, but I think I’ve earned the right to do what’s best for me and not just for football and kind of bet on myself a little bit.”

In 2020, Duvernay-Tardif became the first player in the league to opt out of the season, choosing to devote his time to a local long-term care facility. The decision came after the Chiefs’ second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, and tolled his contract to the point where it expired at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

Upon his return, the former sixth-rounder found that his right guard spot was occupied by Trey Smith, one part of Kansas City’s efforts to completely rebuild its offensive front. Sidelined by a broken bone in his hand, he never played again for the Chiefs. Instead, he waived his no-trade clause and was dealt to the Jets in November. He started seven of eight games in New York.

Now a free agent for the first time, given the expiration of the five-year extension he signed in 2017, Duvernay-Tardif (who received his medical doctorate one year later) faces the possibility of being on the move again, should he return to the NFL. The Jets added Laken Tomlinson in free agency, who is in line to pair with 2021 first-rounder Alijah Vera-Tucker at the guard spots. Despite the uncertainty regarding his future, he is making it clear this latest decision is not a retirement.

“I’m really comfortable with the risk, and I’m pretty confident there’s going to be an offer on the table in September if I want it,” he said. “And if I want it I’ll take it. If medicine is going well and I feel like I’ve got to be out there in front of 80,000 people to play the sport I love, well, I’ll go, but I think I want it to be more on my terms.”

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/30/21

December 30th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s reserve/COVID-19 list updates:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Activated from virus list: OL Cody Ford, CB Cam Lewis
  • Activated from practice squad virus list: TE Quintin Morris

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Placed on practice squad virus list: LB Omari Cobb

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/23/21

December 23rd, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. In some instances, players activated from the list remain on IR:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Chiefs Trade Laurent Duvernay-Tardif To Jets

November 2nd, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have agreed to trade guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the Jets, according to sources who spoke with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (Twitter link). In exchange, the Jets will send tight end Daniel Brown to Kansas City. 

It appears that Duvernay-Tardif personally signed off on the trade, since he’s one of ~10 NFL players to have a no-trade clause. The Chiefs received — and rebuffed — calls on LDT throughout the summer, but they’ve took Gang Green up on their pre-deadline offer.

LDT was a full-time starter for the Chiefs from 2015-19, but opted out of the 2020 campaign in order to treat COVID-19 patients. The licensed medical professional has yet to play this year, due to a broken bone in his hand.

This is just the latest move in the Chiefs’ offensive line revamp. After the Bucs clobbered KC’s front five in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs swung a blockbuster deal for tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and used a second-round choice to take center Creed Humphrey. LDT was set to be a part of that lineup, but his hand injury pushed sixth-round pick Trey Smith into a first-string role instead. Although he hasn’t played since the ’19 season, LDT offers serious experience with 60 games, including 57 starts.

Brown, 29, first entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of James Madison. After stints with the Ravens and Bears, he joined up with the Jets in 2019. He’s appeared in just six games for the Jets, with the bulk of that action coming in ’19. Known more for his blocking, Brown has just 44 catches for 420 yards and two touchdowns across six-and-a-half seasons.

Chiefs Have Talked Trades For OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

August 30th, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif could be on the trade block. The Chiefs have received calls on the offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, reports Albert Breer of MMQB. Complicating a trade is the fact that Duvernay-Tardif has a no-trade clause, making it “more likely” that he’ll remain on Kansas City’s roster.

Although he was a full-time starter for the Chiefs from 2015-19, Duvernay-Tardif wasn’t guaranteed his old job back as the Chiefs focused on revamping their offensive line this past offseason. While the lineman started 14 games for Kansas City in 2019, he sat out the 2020 campaign as he helped fight COVID-19. The 30-year-old also suffered a broken bone in his hand earlier this month, and his recovery was going to cut it close for the start of the season.

After watching Patrick Mahomes run for his life in the Super Bowl against the Bucs’ ferocious pass-rush, the Chiefs made it a priority to overhaul their O-line. They traded for tackle Orlando Brown Jr., drafted center Creed Humphrey in the second-round, and signed veteran guards Austin Blythe and Kyle Long. Duvernay-Tardif was battling with sixth-round pick Trey Smith for the starting right guard gig, a job that the rookie likely secured following the veteran’s hand injury.

Still, considering Duvernay-Tardif’s starting experience, it’s not a surprise that teams would have interest in him. The former sixth-round pick has started 57 of his 60 games since entering the NFL in 2014.

Chiefs’ Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Out 4-6 Weeks

August 11th, 2021 at 4:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Chiefs are the latest team to suffer a significant injury in training camp. Guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif broke a bone in his hand during practice and is out 4-6 weeks, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The good news, as Rapsheet notes, is that the injury won’t require surgery, “which means the opener is a very real possibility.” This injury also might’ve been a bigger deal had Kansas City not dramatically upgraded their offensive line this offseason. After watching Patrick Mahomes run for his life in the Super Bowl against the Bucs’ ferocious pass-rush, the team made it a priority to overhaul his O-line.

They traded for tackle Orlando Brown Jr., drafted center Creed Humphrey in the second-round, and signed veteran guards Austin Blythe and Kyle Long. LDT, of course, is perhaps most notable for being a doctor when he’s not battling it out in the NFL trenches, and he opted out of the 2020 season to help fight COVID-19.

Although he was a full-time starter for the Chiefs from 2015-19, Duvernay-Tardif wasn’t guaranteed his old job back even if he was fully healthy. We heard last month that he was battling it out with sixth-round rookie Trey Smith for a starting spot. This injury would seem to give Smith a pretty big leg up in that competition, so it’s highly possible Duvernay-Tardif starts the season as depth.

AFC Rumors: Chiefs, Sutton, Harry, Jaguars

July 6th, 2021 at 11:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Following Super Bowl LV’s blocking debacle, the Chiefs moved aggressively to bolster their offensive line. In addition to trading for Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle, Kansas City signed Joe Thuney to play left guard, added Kyle Long out of retirement and drafted Trey Smith in the sixth round. Longtime Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is also back after his opt-out season, and the team placed an original-round RFA tender on Andrew Wylie and re-signed veteran Mike Remmers.

Though Wylie finished the season as an overmatched right tackle against Shaquil Barrett, he has started 35 games for the Chiefs over the past three years. But the Chiefs’ new guard glut now has the former UDFA on the roster bubble, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Wylie’s best hope is a backup gig, with Teicher adding that it is Smith who is battling Duvernay-Tardif for the Chiefs’ starting right guard job. A blood clot issue hampered Smith at Tennessee, but he bounced back to earn first-team All-SEC acclaim at guard in 2019 and ’20. Smith’s past medical issue damaged his draft stock, but the Chiefs appear to be considering starting two rookies — Smith and second-round center Creed Humphrey — this season.

Here is the latest from around the AFC:

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