Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller is back in the NFL. On Tuesday, the Miami Dolphins traded for Waller and a 2027 conditional seventh-round pick from the New York Giants in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick, per CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. After making the surprising decision to retire at age 31 last year following his one season with the Giants, Waller is unretiring and ready to catch passes from Tua Tagovailoa.
When Waller retired last June, he said his passion for the game had been fading, and that a medical episode forced him to re-evaluate his future. However, during a recent conversation with Michael Schwartz of WKBW, Waller revealed that he came to the decision to hang up the cleats during the first half of the Giants’ Week 6 loss against the Buffalo Bills. Why? According to Waller, Brian Daboll had him playing a different role on offense, and he wasn’t a fan of it.
“I knew I was retiring when we played in Buffalo,” Waller said. “It was a game where it was really controversial because one of the guys held me at the end, and they didn’t call it. It was in the first quarter of the game, we were running like this counter-lead running play, and I’m kind of like leading through the hole like I’m a fullback. And the play is working, but I sit down on the sideline after a drive where we ran it like three times, and I’m like, ‘What the f— am I doing with my life? I’m out here playing fullback. I don’t even wanna do this shit anymore.’
“Nobody else would really even know that I’m thinking this, but I’m on the sideline like, ‘Yep. I’m going to finish this year to the best of my ability, but I’m definitely done playing after this year. And that was the only time I played in Buffalo.”
Darren Waller trade grades: Dolphins make unexpected gamble to replace Jonnu Smith as Giants unload veteran TE
Cody Benjamin
Waller would play a total of 12 games with the Giants, and caught 52 passes for 552 yards and just one touchdown. The former Raider was once viewed as one of the best tight ends in the NFL, and put together back-to-back 1,100-yard campaigns in 2019 and 2020. He made his lone Pro Bowl in 2020 after leading all tight ends with 107 catches for 1,196 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns. He was traded to New York for a third-round pick prior to the 2023 season, but clearly wasn’t a fit with Daboll, as the Giants finished the year with a 6-11 record.
Now, Waller is reunited with Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, who served as his tight ends coach in Oakland and Vegas from 2018-20. Waller is also likely intrigued by what his role could be in Mike McDaniel’s scheme. While the Dolphins haven’t relied on their tight ends very much in the pass game under McDaniel, Waller is a big-bodied receiver that can line up in different spots. That likely played a role in his decision to return to the field.
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Author: Jordan Dajani
July 1, 2025 | 12:35 pm
