Giants TE Darren Waller Retiring At Age 31

Ian Rapoport reports that Giants TE Darren Waller told the team he is retiring at age 31 after one season with the franchise.

The veteran tight end is a difference-maker when healthy, but injuries have caused him to miss 18 games over the past three seasons, particularly a persistent hamstring issue. That’s likely contributing to Waller’s thought process on playing another year. 

Waller, 31, is a former sixth-round pick of the Ravens. He was in the third year of his four-year, $2.39 million rookie contract when Baltimore waived him coming out of the preseason and later signed him to their practice squad.

The Raiders signed him off the Ravens’ practice squad in 2018 and later locked him up to a three-year extension worth around $9 million per year. He was set to make base salaries of $6.25 million in each of the final two years of his deal when he agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract extension with the Raiders last year. 

The Giants acquired Waller in a trade with the Raiders for a third-round compensatory pick. 

In 2023, Waller appeared in 12 games and recorded 52 receptions for 552 yards (10.6 YPC) and one touchdown. 

In his eight seasons, Waller played for the Ravens, Raiders, and Giants. He caught 350 passes for 4,124 yards (11.8 YPC) and 20 touchdowns.

We’ll have more on Waller as the news is available.