Tight end Darren Waller coming out of retirement, traded to Miami Dolphins

Tight end Darren Waller is coming out of retirement, and he's being traded to the Miami Dolphins, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.

The New York Giants, whom Waller last played for in 2023, are on the other end of the deal with the Dolphins. In addition to Waller, the Giants are giving up a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick, but, in return, New York is receiving a 2026 sixth-round pick from Miami, according to Pelissero.

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ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Waller agreed to a one-year deal with the Dolphins that's worth up to $5 million.

Waller will turn 33 in September. The one-time Pro Bowler retired last June after eight NFL seasons, but now he's back in the league after a one-year hiatus.

The Dolphins are adding Waller a day after trading tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith was part of a blockbuster deal that also sent seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Steelers. In exchange, Miami got back five-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who spent his first two NFL seasons with the Dolphins in 2018-19.

Smith was highly productive during his lone season in Miami, earning his first Pro Bowl nod. The 2017 third-round pick — who previously played for the Tennessee Titans (2017-20), New England Patriots (2021-22) and Atlanta Falcons (2023) — caught 88 passes for 884 receiving yards, both the most by a tight end in Dolphins single-season history, plus notched a team-best eight receiving touchdowns.

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Only Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders, Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers ranked ahead of Smith in tight end receiving yards last season.

Notably, Smith skipped Miami's offseason practices while searching for a new contract.

Waller will now headline a Dolphins tight end room that also includes an eighth-year journeyman in Pharaoh Brown and a third-year player in Julian Hill — who have a combined 90 receptions in their careers — as well as former undrafted free agents Tanner Conner, Hayden Rucci and Jalin Conyers.

Waller decided to retire from football last June, ahead of Giants mandatory minicamp.

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At the time, the 2015 sixth-round pick addressed his decision in a YouTube video. He mentioned his divorce from WNBA star Kelsey Plum and unpacked an off-the-field medical scare he experienced during the 2023 season that he said forced him to re-evaluate things.

While Waller didn't share his diagnosis or what his medical condition was, he described how he ended up spending three-and-a-half days in a hospital midway through the 2023 season. It occurred while he was away from the team dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 8 against the New York Jets.

"Last season in New Jersey, we played the Jets on October 29," Waller said in the video. "I got hurt that game. The following week, the Giants were playing the Raiders in Vegas. ... I started to feel like this fever coming on. ... The fever starts to build, I start to get the chills and stuff like that. By the time I pull into my parking garage at my condo and get out of the car, I'm, like, shaking pretty violently, like uncontrollably."

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Waller said he "couldn't breath" in his bed the next morning. That's when he called 911, the paramedics responded, and he started his hospital stay.

"The worst possible thing for ... somebody like me would be to think that I am supposed to choose one lane of life, one path and stick with it like most of the world does," Waller said in the video.

Close to 13 months later, Waller is returning to the NFL.

He started 12 games for the Giants in 2023. That season, he reeled in 52 passes for 522 receiving yards and a touchdown. Although he began his career with the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, he's best known for his five-season run with the Raiders from 2018-22.

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Waller was suspended twice with the Ravens for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. His second suspension cost him the entire 2017 season.

With the Raiders, though, Waller emerged as a star who was vocal about the steps he had taken to overcome his struggle with substance abuse.

He stitched together back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2019-20 and made the Pro Bowl in the second of those two breakout campaigns. In 2020, Waller logged 107 receptions, 1,196 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.

Waller has yet to tally more than 665 receiving yards in a season since.

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