Laurent Duvernay-Tardif remains a free agent in the NFL, but an important transaction recently took place north of the border that 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.
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