After completing his medical residency program, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is hoping to resume his NFL career. The veteran offensive guard recently went through a workout with the New York Jets, according to NFL Media. Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out of the 2020 season in order to help fight COVID-19, played eight games for the Jets last season after being traded from Kansas City, where he broke into the NFL in 2014.
A sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Duvernay-Tardif broke into the Chiefs' starting lineup in 2015. He remained there over the next five seasons while helping Kansas City win the franchise's second Super Bowl at the end of the 2019 season. But when when the COVID-19 pandemic began to surface in 2020, Duvernay-Tardif, a native of Canada who went to medical school in Montreal, returned home to work in a healthcare facility.
Duvernay-Tardif stepped away from football again following the 2021 season in order to complete the medical requirements necessary to become a physician.
"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," he said this summer, via the Associated Press. "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. 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."
In New York, Duvernay-Tardif would join an offensive line that currently includes starting guards Laken Tomlinson and Nate Herbig. The Jets don't have much depth behind either starter, however, with Dan Feeney currently serving as the team's primary backup at both guard spots as well as center.
The Jets' offense is currently 19th in the NFL in scoring and passing yards, 18th in rushing, 29th in third down efficiency and 13th in red zone efficiency. The line has provided decent protection for quarterback Zach Wilson, who has been sacked 12 times in six starts this season. The unit dominated the Bills near the end of the Jets' most recent game, a 20-17 win over the Bills in Week 9. The line helped James Robinson to run for a combined 71 yards on eight carries on the Jets' game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.
New York is off to a surprising 6-3 start under second year head coach Robert Saleh. Coming off their bye week, the Jets will face the Patriots in New England this weekend.
