(Image credit Denny Medley/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Like I said in my trade grade for CJ Henderson anything can happen in the NFL if it is on the field with an upset or off the field with a transaction made by the team. As the trade deadline is coming closer and closer teams are looking to make moves to improve their team and their salary cap. Some deals are a blockbuster move and others that are not blockbuster. This was a surprising move that was not a blockbuster; the trade involves OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
The Kansas City Chiefs trade OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets in exchange for TE Daniel Brown.
Now Before we get into both sides of the trade I want to give a quick summary of both OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and TE Daniel Brown
I will start with Jets TE Daniel Brown. Daniel Brown entered the league and entered the 2015 NFL Draft as he went undrafted. Brown would later sign with the Baltimore Ravens and was with the team for two seasons. Brown would sign with the Chicago Bears and he was solid during his tenure with the Bears especially on special teams and spent three seasons with the team. That earned him an opportunity with the New York Jets and spent multiple seasons with the team. Until today as he was shipped off to the Kansas City Chiefs in this trade.
Now let's take a look at OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. I wanna start by giving you a Fun Fact: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was also selected in the 2014 CFL Draft in the 3rd round and was the 19th choice. To add to that he was ranked as the best eligible player. That is a crazy fact to have if you're Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He was also selected in the 2014 NFL Draft in the 6th round 200th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif spent 8 seasons with the team and he was an excellent piece on the Chiefs o-line. He opted out of the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and was one of the lead doctors to battle the pandemic which I have had a high level of respect for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif doing.
Kansas City Chiefs Side
I thought that the Chiefs were done making moves during the trade deadline when it hit 3:30. Then a notification popped up on my phone at around 3:45 and I saw the chiefs made another trade and I saw Laurent Duvernay-Tardif's name and I have had a high level of respect for him after he opted out of the 2020 season and battled the pandemic as he is a Doctor. I don’t care if he was a good player or not, that is one of the most honorable things to do. Sacrificing your time playing a sport and focusing on saving lives in the middle of a pandemic is very respectful.
I was not surprised the Chiefs decided to move on from Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Many fans forget that the Chiefs tried to trade Laurent Duvernay-Tardif during the offseason and failed to get any attraction for him in the trade market due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. He did later decide to play this season but he suffered a hand injury and was not activated until recently yesterday. The Chiefs had around 800 thousand in salary cap needed to get extra salary relief as Laurent Duvernay-Tardif had a 1.5 million dollar cap hit. They decided to trade him and get a special teams player on this team.
New York Jets Side
When I heard that the Jets acquired Laurent Duvernay-Tardif I was excited not because of the level of respect I had with him but the talent the Jets could get on their offensive line. Greg Van Roten had been horrendous this season and now his job security as the starter is in trouble with this trade if Laurent Duvernay-Tardif plays the way he did years ago. Keep in mind he has not played a down since 2019 and has been dealing with a hand injury which is a risk but. All the Jets gave up was a scrub Tight End in Daniel Brown who mostly played on special teams throughout his tenure with the Jets and had plenty of salary cap to acquire his services. Worse for Worse he becomes solid o-line depth and a strong leader in the locker room.
Grades for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Trade
Kansas City Chiefs: A
New York Jets: A+
It's a win-win trade for both teams and I like the trade for both teams so much that I decided to give an A to both teams. But I will give the advantage to the New York Jets with this trade. They did not sacrifice much and the Jets got a potentially all-pro o-lineman on this team for this season. The Chiefs get salary relief and a special teams player in this deal. Great trade from both teams including Chiefs GM Brett Veach and Jets GM Joe Douglas.