American football

Big mistake: announced the departure of two key players…..

‘A player must flourish off the field to perform on the field’: Ex-Chiefs star and medical doctor Laurent Duvernay-Tardif retires from NFL

Duvernay-Tardif (76) during the second half of an NFL preseason game between the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs on August 31, 2017 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO.

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif looks on during the second half of the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on August 31, 2017.
CNN

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman and medical doctor, announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday.

“I’ve had the chance to play in the NFL for 9 years and even today, I sometimes can’t believe I was able to experience this adventure,” the 32-year-old wrote on Instagram.

“Being a professional athlete is a privilege as well as an extremely enriching human and personal experience. The victories, losses and injuries have all been moments to learn how to win and lose as a team while managing a wide range of emotions.”

Duvernay-Tardif was drafted in the sixth round by the Chiefs in 2014, spending six years with the team.

He was in his third year of medical school when the Chiefs selected him and continued his studies, returning to Montreal in the offseason to fulfill his clinical rotations in pediatrics, obstetrics, geriatrics and his preferred specialization, emergency medicine.

He eventually earned his medical degree from McGill University in Canada in 2018.

KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 23: Offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif #76 of the Kansas City Chiefs is introduced prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 23, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
Duvernay-Tardif is introduced prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 23, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” Duvernay-Tardif told CNN in 2018 after becoming the first practicing medical doctor to play in the NFL by taking to the field in the Chiefs’ opening week victory over the Los Angles Chargers.

“It’s good to step on that field knowing that you’re the first active player with an M.D. You know, I’ve been working eight years for that, and all those times that people were like: ‘You cannot do both, you have got to pick one or the other,’ I decided to stay true to myself and keep going, keep grinding with that vision.”

Duvernay-Tardif was a vital part of the Chiefs team which won the Super Bowl during the 2019 season.

In 2020, Duvernay-Tardif decided to opt out of that year’s NFL season, instead choosing to help as an orderly at a long-term care facility near his hometown Montreal during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I always saw medicine as a way to cure people,” Duvernay-Tardif told ESPN in 2021. “I wanted to send people back home with good news. Working on the front lines and in red zones in the long-term care facility was a new environment for me as a medical professional.

“I quickly realized that, because of COVID, people were not going to be returning home. And it gave me a different perspective on life. It gave me a different perspective on football. It gave me a different perspective on everything.

“I always viewed medicine as a way to help me cope with some of the pressure of sports. When I decided to pursue a career in medicine while playing professional football, I experienced a new level of pressure beyond the field. What I witnessed in the emergency room could directly help me when it came to playing football and being in a high-stress environment. It helped me optimize my performance on the field. But ultimately, working in the medical field helped me define myself as more than a football player.

“This past year, I got a different sense of what really matters in life. I saw so much suffering. I saw so much resilience. The healthcare workers displayed resilience like I’ve never seen before.”

Junfu Han/USA Today Network/Reuters
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The helmet of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes breaks as he is hit by Miami Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott during the Chiefs’ 26-7 victory over the Dolphins on Saturday, January 13. The temperature at kickoff was -4 degrees Fahrenheit in Kansas City, with a wind chill of -20 degrees. That made it the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, according to the Peacock broadcast.
Ryan Kang/AP
Houston Texans linebacker Christian Harris celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns on January 13. The Texans returned two interceptions for touchdowns as they defeated the Browns 45-14.
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New York Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy shovels snow along the sideline during a game at New England on January 7. The Jets won 17-3, but both teams finished the season well out of the playoff picture.
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