Giants Pull Off Shocking Trade Involving Former Pro-Bowler

On Tuesday morning, the New York Giants left the football world stunned with their recent roster move. A little over a year since announcing his retirement, tight end Darren Waller is returning to football and being dealt to the Miami Dolphins.

Waller, a sixth-round pick in 2015, developed into one of the NFL’s top tight ends just a few years ago. His best individual season came in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders. Waller landed the only Pro-Bowl nod of his career after racking up nearly 1,200 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

After establishing himself with the Raiders, the Giants decided to trade for the veteran tight end in March of 2023. They viewed him as someone who could be a focal point in the offense, but things did not pan out that way.

Waller ended up playing one full season for the Giants, totaling 552 yards and one touchdown in 12 appearances. Following his first year in New York, he opened up on dealing with various health issues and decided to step away from professional football.

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Fast forward to now, and Waller appears in a position to make a return to the NFL. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Giants are dealing him to the Dolphins for a future sixth-round pick. In a following move, Waller will be signing a one-year deal with Miami worth $5 million.

In the reporting of the trade, insider Jordan Raanan dove more into Waller decided to come out of retirement this season. The now ex-Giants tight end had told people close to him that he missed the game and wanted to get back out on the field.

“Waller told people close to him that he ‘missed football’ and was returning for the love of the game, a source told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan,” wrote ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.

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For the Dolphins, this comes on the heels of them making a pair of blockbuster deals. They recently had a void to fill at the tight end position after opting to send Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miami will now attempt to replace him with a returning Waller.

While things didn’t work out for the Giants when they acquired Waller, this deal also benefits them to some degree. With him eyeing a comeback, the front office was able to acquire draft capital in his departure.

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