Currently out of contract offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif will sit out the preparation for the 2022 NFL season and work as a doctor instead. The doctor of medicine already didn’t play in 2020 and instead did work fighting the coronavirus.

Munich/Montreal – While the NFL circus continued in 2020 despite the ongoing corona pandemic, each player had the chance to push back a contract year in exchange for sitting out the season.

The first player to exercise this right was offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

But not because he was afraid to play, he wanted to help elsewhere. The Canadian has a doctorate in medicine and was one of the doctors urgently needed in his home country to fight the Corona pandemic.

Duvernay-Tardif wants to prioritise medicine – but not forget NFL

Now he’s turning his back on the NFL once again for the time being. Duvernay-Tardif told the Associated Press, “For me, medicine now comes first. After eight years in the NFL, I’ve earned the right to just do what’s best for me,” said the 31-year-old, who played seven games for the New York Jets in 2021.

He is still leaving open what happens next for him after that. Even an intervention in the current NFL season is still possible, there will be no shortage of offers, according to Duvernay-Tardif. “We’ll see if there’s a team that fits in September. I’m very sure there will be offers on the table in September and if I want to take one, I will. If not, I won’t,” explains the former New York Jet and Kansas City Chief.

The 31-year-old has played 68 games in the NFL so far in his career and has been a free agent since March.