In a somewhat surprising move, the New York Giants have traded tight end Darren Waller and a conditional 2027 7th-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the Dolphins’ 2026 6th-round draft selection. It is not known what conditions involve the 7th-round pick in 2027.
Waller had retired from the NFL in June 2024 after his initial disappointing season with the Giants in 2023. At that time, Waller had three years left on his 4-year, $51 million contract that the Giants restructured in March 2023. In fact, the Giants are still responsible for $4.917 million in dead money in 2025 from the contract.
Now officially unretired and traded, Waller is receiving a 1-year contract worth up to $5 million from the Dolphins.
The Giants had traded for Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2023 for a 3rd-round selection. Waller was a daily standout in the 2023 training camp and it was anticipated that he would be the centerpiece of the passing offense. However, right before the season, Waller appeared on the injury report with a left hamstring injury, the same injury that wiped out much of his 2022 season the Raiders. While Waller did not miss any early games and was leading the team in receptions, the injury seemed to negatively affect his play and overall impact. Worse, Waller injured the right hamstring in Week 8, an injury that caused him to be placed on Injured Reserve and miss five games. He later returned to play the last four games of the season. In all, Waller played in 12 games, with 11 starts, and finished the year with 52 catches and 552 yards, both numbers being second-best on the team. However, he only had one touchdown.
The 6’6”, 238-pound Waller was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He has spent time with both the Ravens (2015-2018) and Raiders (2018-2022). His best two seasons were 2019-2020, when he caught an incredible 197 passes for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, Waller has missed 18 regular-season games the past three seasons with injuries, specifically ankle and knee sprain injuries in 2021 and hamstring issues in 2022 and 2023.