Chiefs bolster offensive line with LDT’s return, but will he be back in the lineup?
The good doctor exercised discretion in his comments on Wednesday, but the Chiefs’ starting right guard wants to be on the field when his team plays for a berth in the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance in nearly 50 years.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the fifth-year pro and four-year starter who completed his medical degree last offseason, officially re-joined the active roster this week after being on injured reserve since Oct. 9. While he hasn’t played since Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he’s itching to be part of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
“To be honest, I think right now we’re just going to go out there and practice,” Duvernay-Tardif said about his potential role this weekend. “We’re going to leave it up to coach to decide who is the best five at this moment in order to go out there and compete against the Patriots.”
A 6-foot-5, 321-pound native of Montreal, Quebec, Duvernay-Tardif has worked his way back from a Maisonneuve injury, which amounts to two injuries that happened simultaneously. He tore ligaments in his ankle as well as fractured his fibula as a result of the ankle being twisted.
He returned to practice with the team for the final week of the regular season, and the Chiefs had until this week to declare whether he’d return to the active roster.
With Duvernay-Tardif sidelined, Jordan Devey started in his place against the Patriots in Week 6. When Devey started at center the following week in place of Mitch Morse (concussion) against the Cincinnati Bengals, Andrew Wylie took over as the starting right guard. Wylie has started at guard since Week 7.
Duvernay-Tardif will rotate in with the starting group during practice this week, according to Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
“He continually got better,” Reid said of Duvernay-Tardif. “He made improvement. Now, we just have to see how much he can do as we go forward.”
Duvernay-Tardif said he’s felt good physically since returning to practice and has been moving and had “constant communication” with the training staff and coaches.
At this point in the NFL season, teams have extremely limited contact in practice sessions, which makes it more challenging to gauge his progress.
“At the same time, I know what I need in order to get ready,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “I work with a different practice squad guy to get some looks, put the shoulder pads on, do a few blocks, see how it feels. I know where I’m at right now, and I know what I need in order to get better.”
Duvernay-Tardiff said he knew it was going to be tight as far as him being able to return this season, and he trusted that the Chiefs could win and extend the season long enough to give him a chance to return.
While he won’t come out and say he wants his starting job back, he can’t hide his excitement about the prospect of being part of this Chiefs run.
“I really feel like we have a special locker room,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “And, of course, I want to contribute, I want to be there, but I think my job for the past couple weeks was to take care of my body (and) try to get back on the field, which I did. So I’m pretty happy about that. Now, it’s time to compete on the biggest stage.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Chiefs bolster offensive line with LDT’s return, but will he be back in the lineup?."
