When the 2025 offseason began, the New York Giants didn’t expect to squeeze any value out of Darren Waller.
After all, Waller had been retired since the end of the 2023 season, pivoting his energy toward building a music career.
Yet somehow, the Giants managed to pull off a bit of front-office magic, flipping him to the Miami Dolphins for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
How the Giants worked around Waller’s retirement
Technically, Waller was still under contract with the Giants despite stepping away from football years ago.
That contract allowed general manager Joe Schoen to explore creative options, seeing if anyone might gamble on Waller’s raw talent.
Surprisingly, the Dolphins jumped at the chance, also receiving a conditional 2027 seventh-rounder from the Giants to sweeten the pot.
Miami’s motivation for rolling the dice on Waller
It makes sense why the Dolphins would sniff around Waller, even after his long absence from the field.
Miami just shipped tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a much larger trade, leaving a noticeable gap in their tight end room.
Taking a chance on Waller—once among the NFL’s most dynamic receiving tight ends—could give them a unique weapon if he’s anywhere close to his old form.
A quick reminder of what Waller once was
There was a time not long ago when Darren Waller was the nightmare every defensive coordinator dreaded each week.
He earned that reputation by posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, using his 6’6” frame to dominate mismatches.
His performance landed him a three-year, $51 million contract, cementing him as one of the league’s premier tight ends.
The sudden shift to music and how the Giants reacted
Unfortunately, injuries and personal passion pulled Waller in another direction.
After joining the Giants in a 2022 trade, he spent two seasons struggling to stay on the field before choosing to focus on his music full-time.
The Giants seemed resigned to simply absorbing dead money, but Schoen remained patient, and that patience somehow turned into draft capital.
The gamble that barely cost the Giants anything
New York also sent Miami a conditional seventh-round pick in 2027, which essentially means they swapped lottery tickets.
The beauty is they secured a sixth-round pick next year for almost nothing—assuming Waller makes the Dolphins’ final roster.
For a player who was retired and unlikely to ever play again for New York, that’s an impressive bit of maneuvering.
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Could Waller still surprise everyone in Miami?
The Dolphins are clearly hoping lightning strikes twice, that Waller can rediscover his All-Pro form after time away.
If he does, Miami gets a steal. If not, they only lose a late pick, hardly crippling for any roster.
Meanwhile, the Giants pick up a future asset and fully close the book on a fascinating, if brief, chapter with Waller.
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