The Dolphins have taken an unexpected route to search out a brand new veteran tight end. A trade agreement is in place with the Giants for Miami to accumulate Darren Waller, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Waller is coming out of retirement to go to Miami. Latest York still held his rights, requiring this swap to happen. The previous Pro Bowler only intended to resume his playing profession if he could achieve this with the Dolphins, Pelissero adds. That can indeed be the case. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Miami will receive Waller and a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-rounder in 2026.
Acquired via trade from the Raiders, Waller faced high expectations upon arrival with the Giants. The previous sixth-rounder wound up only playing one season in Latest York, nonetheless. Retirement was brought up on a couple of occasion, and last June Waller officially decided to hold up his cleats. That move – which got here within the wake of a daunting health episode in November 2023 – created cap savings for the Giants however the team didn’t deal away his rights at any point. Two years remained on Waller’s contract on the time of his retirement, but Pelissero notes he’ll ink a restructured pact heavy on incentives as a part of this trade.
Providing details on that time, Schefter adds this will probably be a one-year deal price as much as $5MM via incentives. Waller will now aim to offer his recent team with a veteran pass-catching option within the wake of Jonnu Smith being dealt to the Steelers yesterday. The Dolphins were available in the market for a good end in consequence, but this move is definitely not the one many would have expected.
Along with health issues, Waller cited a waning passion for the sport when addressing his decision to retire. That’s in fact commonplace for a lot of across the league once they elect to hold up their cleats, but it surely appeared to confirm Waller wouldn’t be eyeing a return. With one exception clearly being made within the case of the Dolphins, nonetheless, he’s now set to play a ninth NFL campaign.
Miami’s depth chart on the TE spot consisted of veteran Pharaoh Brown together with Julian Hill, Hayden Ricci and Jalin Conyers. Each member of the latter trio entered the league as an undrafted free agent. Expectations will probably be limited of their cases in consequence, but it is going to be interesting to see how this Waller experiment unfolds in 2025.