July 24, he announced via his Twitter account he chose to opt-out of playing during the 2020 season as a precaution due to COVID-19. Duvernay-Tardif had been working as an orderly at a Montreal long-term care facility during the pandemic. He was the first NFL player to announce he would not play the season because of COVID-19. His role in fighting COVID off the field in 2020 resulted in Sports Illustrated naming Duvernay-Tardif one of their Sportspeople of the Year. For his efforts both on and off the field in 2020, he was named a co-winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy, which is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete for the year. 2021 On July 10, 2021, Duvernay-Tardif was named the recipient of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the 2021 ESPYs for his decision to opt out of the 2020 NFL season to help fight the global COVID-19 pandemic. New York Jets Duvernay-Tardif was traded to the New York Jets on November 2, 2021, in exchange for tight end Daniel Brown. On November 18, 2022, after going unsigned all offseason and into the season, Duvernay-Tardif was signed to the Jets practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 7. Personal life Duvernay-Tardif is the fourth NFL player to have graduated from medical school, and as of the 2018 season, the only active player. He graduated from McGill University Faculty of Medicine in May 2018 with a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery (M.D., C.M.). He primarily studied during the off-season prior to mandatory off-season workouts. He had the support of the Chiefs coaching staff, especially head coach Andy Reid, whose mother also graduated from McGill's medical school. Following his graduation, he petitioned the NFL to add the title "M.D." on the back of his jersey. The league denied his request, prompting fans and writers to criticize the league's decision. He has not yet completed his postgraduate medical training. Duvernay-Tardif provided the convocation address at McGill's 2020 graduation ceremony. In 2020, he also started studying at Harvard University to get a Master of Public Health. During the 2018 offseason, Duvernay-Tardif worked as a feature reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) during its coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics. He is also a member of the NFLPA Health and Safety Committee to protect the health of players. In 2019, Duvernay-Tardif was made a Knight of