Colts: 3 huge missed opportunities at trade deadline
By Adam Weinrib
2. Passing on Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
OK, remember when we said the Colts were in the worst position of any franchise entering this deadline stuck in between? Sure, sure. Fair. But why were the Jets buying?!
Guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif ended up in New York from KC this deadline, and despite passing up on the rare opportunity to acquire a full doctor, the Colts also tacitly agreed to roll with Mark Glowinski and Chris Reed at a guard spot for the remainder of the season. That combo has become quite turnstile-y in recent weeks, with Reed specifically taking astounding steps back in Sunday’s loss to Tennessee.
The Chiefs prefer rookie Trey Smith and Joe Thuney at the guard spots, and understandably so, but pre-opt out (to battle COVID-19 in hospitals!), Duvernay-Tardif was a rock on their Super Bowl champion line. The Good Doctor missed time in camp with a hand injury, but was mostly a healthy scratch this season, activated for the first time all year for Monday night’s loss to the New York Giants.
Turns out he might as well have hopped a plane home with those losers, too.
Duvernay-Tardif is wrapping up an expensive extension, but we really do mean “wrapping up”; he’s a UFA in 2022, and is being paid just $1,527,778 in 2021. After examining the whole picture, we’re really not certain why they chose not to beat the Jets’ package of tight end Dan Brown, especially because they have some tight ends to play with.
Maybe it was scar tissue from the last time they added a Chiefs offensive lineman … in Eric Fisher.