Player News
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The Giants placed Waller on the reserve/retired list Monday, Howard Balzer of GoPHNX.com reports. Waller informed New York of his intent to retire Sunday, and the team has wasted little time in officially putting the transaction forth. The 31-year-old's retirement frees up $11.9 million in cap space for the Giants this season, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, but it leaves the team with $6.6 million in dead money both this year and in 2025. Waller's lone season in New York produced just 552 yards plus one touchdown across 12 games, but he'll best be remembered for a phenomenal two-year stretch from 2019-20, when as a standout for the Raiders he exceeded 1,100 receiving yards twice and combined for 12 touchdowns on 197 catches.
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Waller informed the Giants on Sunday that he plans to retire, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Waller had been contemplating retirement since shortly after the Giants' season ended in January, and it became more apparent in recent weeks that he was leaning toward hanging up his cleats. The veteran tight end didn't attend OTAs, and the organization was well aware that he was potentially not returning for the 2024 campaign. Waller is walking away from the NFL at the age of 31 having played eight seasons in the league -- two with the Ravens, five with the Raiders and one with the Giants. He accumulated 350 career receptions for 4,124 yards and 20 touchdowns over 86 regular-season games. New York drafted Theo Johnson in the fourth round of this April's draft, and he'll presumably compete with 2022 fourth-round pick Daniel Bellinger for the team's lead role at tight end.
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The Giants expect Waller to announce his retirement within the next week or so, ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan reports. The team anticipates an announcement before mandatory minicamp June 11-13, with sources close to Waller suggesting he's leaning toward retirement. He said Friday that a decision is coming soon, and he's been busy off the field working on his music career and finalizing a divorce. Waller missed five or more games each of the past three seasons and thus finished with no more than 665 yards or three TDs in any of them. He had back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2019-20 with the Raiders, peaking at 107-1,196-9 in 2020. If Waller has a late change of heart and decides to play another season, he'll be part of a New York offense that signed three guards in free agency and drafted WR Malik Nabers sixth overall, though the QB situation remains as shaky as ever with Daniel Jones recovering from an ACL tear and Drew Lock taking first-team reps this spring. Daniel Bellinger, Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz give the Giants capable blockers at tight end, while incoming fourth-round pick Theo Johnson has the speed (4.57 40) and size (6-foot-6, 259) to develop into a receiving threat. Waller will turn 32 in September, five days after the Giants' season opener against Minnesota.
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Coach Brian Daboll relayed Thursday that Waller remains absent from the Giants' OTAs, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports. Waller's absence isn't surprising given that he's considering retirement, but Daboll indicated that the Giants plan to give the 31-year-old tight end the time he needs to make a call on his plans for 2024."[We will] let Darren take what [time] he needs to take, and once the decision is made, we'll go from there," Daboll noted Thursday. If Waller elects not to play this season, Daniel Bellingerwould be the next man up in a TE corps that also currently includes Theo Johnson, Jack Stoll, Chris Manhertz, Lawrence Cager and Tyree Jackson.
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Waller said Wednesday that he's still undecided on retirement but will make a decision "pretty soon," Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. While he doesn't expect to decide before the start of the 2024 league year March 11, the 31-year-old tight end said he doesn't want it become "this drawn-out thing" and will give the Giants time to adjust if they end up needing to replace him. If he waits too long the team might take the decision out of his hands, as Waller doesn't have any guarantees remaining on his contract and is scheduled for at least $12 million in compensation each of the next three seasons. The Giants can free up $11.625 million in cap space by declaring Waller as a post-June 1 release, though multiple reports have suggested they'd rather have him back. The tight end was on pace to catch 85 passes for 923 yards through seven games in 2023 before a Week 8 hamstring injury derailed his season and led to a third straight year with at least five missed games. He had 2,341 yards and 12 TDs in 32 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, compared to 1,605 yards and six TDs in 32 games over the past three years combined.
Recent Tweets
Completed Games
Scheduled Games
| WK | DATE | OPP | OPP RANK | OPP FPTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | BYE | - | - | - |
| 12 | 11/24 | Tampa Bay | 28 | 8.80 |
| 13 | 11/28 | @Dallas | 22 | 7.11 |
| 14 | 12/08 | New Orleans | 16 | 5.60 |
| 15 | 12/15 | Baltimore | 23 | 7.20 |
| 16 | 12/22 | @Atlanta | 24 | 7.40 |
| 17 | 12/29 | Indianapolis | 26 | 8.00 |
| 18 | 01/05 | @Philadelphia | 1 | 2.78 |
Team Trends
Career Stats
| Season | Tar | Recpt | ReYd | ReTD | ReFD | ReAvg | FPTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 74 | 52 | 552 | 1 | 25 | 10.62 | 57 |
| 2022 | 43 | 28 | 388 | 3 | 18 | 13.86 | 53 |
| 2021 | 93 | 55 | 665 | 2 | 31 | 12.09 | 74 |
| 2020 | 146 | 107 | 1196 | 9 | 69 | 11.18 | 164 |
| 2019 | 117 | 90 | 1145 | 3 | 53 | 12.72 | 125 |
| 2018 | 6 | 6 | 75 | 0 | 4 | 12.50 | 3 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 2016 | 17 | 10 | 85 | 2 | 7 | 8.50 | 13 |
| 2015 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 Year Avg | 70 | 45 | 535 | 2 | 25 | 11.89 | 56 |
| Career | 501 | 350 | 4124 | 20 | 208 | 11.78 |