Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is not ready to put an end to his career in the NFL.
The Super Bowl champion, who put his career on the Goodell circuit on hold to begin his residency in a Montreal-area hospital to complete his doctorate, hopes to play one last season before retiring this winter.
He requested a five-month leave from his residency starting Monday.
“It coincides perfectly with the start of the NFL season, rejoiced Duvernay-Tardif, in an interview with The Canadian Press. I don’t have a contract at the moment, but I hope to receive a call soon. Maybe it won’t work, I’m aware of that, but I’m confident in my chances. »
The NFL season kicks off Thursday night.
The 31-year-old had four years to begin residency from the day he graduated from McGill University in 2018 to complete his medical degree.
“My priority this summer was to make a good transition into residency and medicine. The last two months have gone well. Now I have five months to focus, train and get ready to join a team or finish all the little projects I’ve started over the last eight years in order to start my full-time residency in January that whether with a new Super Bowl ring or as a retiree. »
Duvernay-Tardif has been an unrestricted free agent since his contract with the New York Jets ended in March.
After helping the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl in February 2020, he took a break from football to work in a CHSLD in Montreal at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He joined the Chiefs last year expecting to fight for a starting job but was sidelined for a month following a broken hand suffered in training camp. In November, he agreed to waive his no-trade clause in order to be traded to the Jets. He started in seven of his eight games with the Jets.
