New York Giants tight end Darren Waller is taking his time to make a decision on whether or not to return for a ninth NFL season. That's just fine with his head coach, Brian Daboll, who says the team will give Waller all the time he needs.
"I would say the same thing I said last month, let Darren take what he needs to take and once the decision is made, we'll go from there," Daboll said, via Pro Football Talk. "We have conversations, obviously, but when Darren makes his decision, that's what we'll go with."
Waller, who will turn 32 in September, struggled with injuries over the last few seasons, playing just 32 of 51 possible games. He also saw his production decline during that time. After posting back-to-back seasons of 1,100 or more yards, Waller has totaled just 1,605 over that three-year span.
The Giants, meanwhile, should be better-positioned to manage not having Waller this year than they were a year ago after drafting former LSU star Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick last month. Along with Wan'Dale Robinson now being fully recovered from his 2022 ACL tear, Jalin Hyatt heading into Year 2, and Darius Slayton returning, New York at least has a professional-looking receiver room.
At tight end, New York still has Waller's backup, Daniel Bellinger, and it added Jack Stoll in free agency and uber-athlete Theo Johnson in the draft. That group won't quite bring what Waller brought to the table as a receiving threat, but they can at least work as part of a functional offense, and Johnson has the upside to become a dynamic player eventually.
Heading into the third year of Daboll's tenure, the Giants could certainly use Waller as they try to take a step forward offensively, but they're not going to pressure him into either deciding on a quicker timeline than he wants to, or to make any other decision than the one that's best for him.
