Canadian citizen and Kansas City Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a man who wore several hats all throughout his career. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the 29-year old player has decided that his football career will be sidelined for the meantime. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes respected and positively reacted to the decision of his teammate.
Chiefs insider BJ Kissel shared Mahomes' opinion regarding the matter on Twitter:
"Everybody respects the decision 100%….he's trying to make the world a better place."
~ @PatrickMahomes on @LaurentDTardif's decision to use his medical degree to forego the 2020 season to stay in Canada and help with the pandemic.
— Chiefs Reporter (@ChiefsReporter) July 25, 2020
With the right guard's decision, he will be missing the Chefs' upcoming title defense in the 2020 season. He will instead help combat the virus outbreak and returned to his hometown in Canada to work at a long-term care facility to assist those in need.
Duvernay-Tardif is a McGill University product, a medical school based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with a doctorate of medicine and master of surgery. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Duvernay-Tardif in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. In the same year, he was also picked by a team in the third round of the Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft.
However, he opted to play in the NFL instead. He has been the starter at the right guard position for the Chiefs since 2015. He is also the fourth medical school graduate to play in the NFL.
During the 2018 offseason, Duvernay-Tardif also moonlighted as a feature reporter for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) during its coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The absence of Duvernay-Tardif will put the Chiefs' bench depth to test as the next man is expected to be called up to fill in the right guard's slot. The hunt for their second-straight Lombardi Trophy will commence on September 10 as the Chiefs host the Houston Texans on their home turf.
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