Darren Waller may have reached the end of the road of his NFL career. The veteran tight end has been mulling retirement throughout the offseason, and a decision is likely to be made by next week with the New York Giants set to open up mandatory minicamp, according to ESPN. The report also notes the team expects that decision to be for Waller to hang up his helmet and retire.
Waller said a decision was on the horizon during an Instagram Live on Friday. The 31-year-old hasn't been at any of New York's voluntary offseason workouts and head coach Brian Daboll had previously noted the team will let Waller "take what he needs to take and once the decision is made, we'll go from there."
This latest report notes that the Giants have been operating this offseason under the presumption that Waller will retire. They drafted Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the NFL Draft out of Penn State and signed veterans Jack Stoll and Chris Martinez this offseason. The club also has Daniel Bellinger, Lawrence Cager and Tyree Jackson on the tight end depth chart.
Waller entered the league in 2015 as a sixth-round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens out of Georgia Tech. He was initially listed as a wide receiver before converting to tight end after his rookie season. While talented, Waller's early years in the league were limited due to his battle with substance abuse. He was suspended in 2016 for four games and then suspended for the year in 2017.
Waller would later sign with the then-Oakland Raiders where he'd eventually blossom into a Pro Bowl tight end. In 2019, he had a breakout campaign and caught 90 passes for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that up with a 107-catch season in 2020 where he had 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Waller was traded to the Giants last offseason, but was limited due to a hamstring injury that saw him appear in just 12 games.