Darren Waller, a tight end, has announced his retirement from the NFL after eight seasons. In a nearly 18-minute YouTube video, Waller shared his decision, which he also communicated to the New York Giants, with whom he spent his final season. At 31 years old, Waller is stepping away from professional football.
“I’ve made the decision that I’ll be retiring from the NFL,” Waller said in the video. “It’s an opportunity to take back the power in my life and start to make choices for myself.”
In the video, Darren Waller explained that a medical emergency he experienced last November led to his decision to retire. He did not specify the medical condition but described having a sudden fever, uncontrollable shaking, and difficulty breathing.
Waller spent three and a half days in the hospital, during which he couldn’t stand up, use the restroom, or feed himself. This experience made him realize that his passion for football had been “slowly fading.”
“I come out of that experience and I’m sitting in the hospital and I go back into my daily life, and I’m like, ‘Pretty clear, I almost just lost my life and I don’t know if I really feel like if I would have died that I would have felt great about how my life was going if I died at the time.’”
Waller went on to express his gratitude for the NFL, trainer Quay Mack and all the teams he played for.
“I’m eternally grateful for the game of football,” he said.
NFL Network was the first to report on Waller’s plans to retire.
“We have great respect for Darren as a person and player,” the Giants said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best.”
Darren Waller’s potential retirement loomed over the Giants throughout the offseason. He had been contemplating the decision since the end of his first season with New York.
“It’s really the idea of signing up for another journey,” Waller told in early March.
“It’s tough, it’s long, it requires a lot. And if you’re not fully bought into every single thing of the process, it’s going to be tough.
I feel like at the end of the day, you’re doing guys a disservice if you’re not all the way in. So those are the kinds of things I’m taking into account.”
The Giants acquired Darren Waller last offseason in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for a late third-round pick.
Despite Waller’s extensive injury history, the deal was seen as a low-risk, high-reward move by general manager Joe Schoen.
Initially, this seemed promising as Waller and quarterback Daniel Jones showed great chemistry during training camp and the preseason, suggesting they would be a formidable duo.
However, the risk materialized quickly with Waller suffering hamstring injuries even before the season started.
After missing 14 games over his previous two seasons with the Raiders, Waller missed five games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury and couldn’t deliver the impact the Giants had hoped for. He finished the season with 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown, as the Giants ended with a 6-11 record.
Beyond his injuries, Darren Waller has had a turbulent NFL career since being drafted in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015.
Early in his career, he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, leading to suspensions: first for four games in 2016 and then for the entire 2017 season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
The Raiders signed Waller off the Ravens’ practice squad in 2018, and he had a breakout season in 2019 with 90 catches for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns.
He improved further in 2020, recording 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns, setting a Raiders franchise record for receptions and earning his only Pro Bowl selection.
Despite a challenging 2021 season due to injuries, Waller’s performances in the previous years helped him secure a three-year, $51 million extension from the Raiders before the 2022 season.
However, injuries limited him to just nine games in 2022, and following the season, the Raiders traded him to the New York Giants.
With Darren Waller’s retirement, the Giants will gain $11.6 million in cap savings but will incur $2.5 million in dead money in 2024 and $4.9 million in 2025.
This financial impact would have been the same if the Giants had released Waller, allowing them to wait for his decision rather than forcing it.
Waller’s departure leaves the Giants’ tight end room thin. Daniel Bellinger is expected to take most of Waller’s snaps after playing 62 percent of the offensive snaps last season, finishing with 25 catches for 255 yards.
Lawrence Cager and Tyree Jackson will also return, while the Giants added Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz during free agency, both primarily blocking tight ends.
They also drafted Theo Johnson in the fourth round, who, like Waller, possesses elite size, speed, and athleticism.
Although it’s probably too much to expect Johnson to make a significant impact in his rookie year, the Giants are hopeful he can develop into a legitimate receiving threat.
