Giants reportedly bracing for Darren Waller to announce retirement soon

Darren Waller might have played his final snap in the NFL.

The New York Giants are expecting the veteran tight end to make a decision on his football future before the team starts minicamp on June 11, ESPN reported Monday.

Waller, who’ll turn 32 shortly after the season begins in September, has pondered retirement this offseason. Rumors of him leaning toward retirement emerged during the NFL Draft in April, when the Giants selected Penn State tight end Theo Johnson early in the fourth round.

Prior to the draft, Waller had told the Giants that he planned to return in 2024, the New York Post reported in early March. However, he opened the door to retirement again in an interview with The Athletic in April.

“It’s really the idea of signing up for another journey,” Waller said. “It’s tough, it’s long, it requires a lot. And if you’re not fully bought into every single thing of the process, it’s going to be tough. I feel like at the end of the day, you’re doing guys a disservice if you’re not all the way in. So those are the kinds of things I’m taking into account.”

Waller hasn’t been present for the Giants’ voluntary offseason workouts and organized team activities (OTAs). Next week’s minicamp is mandatory.

Waller teased that a decision on his football future would be coming soon during an Instagram Live on Friday. He’s been working on his music this offseason, releasing a song last week and another video of him rapping on his Instagram over the weekend.

The Giants acquired Waller in 2023 in hopes that he would remain healthy and bolster their pass-catching corps, giving up a third-round pick in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. But Waller missed five games due to a hamstring injury and finished with 52 receptions for 552 yards and a touchdown. He also missed several games in 2022 due to a hamstring injury.

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Waller is under contract for three more seasons after signing a $51 million extension in 2022. He holds a $10.525 million base salary and a $14,083,750 cap hit for the 2024 season. But the Giants can open up $11.625 million in cap space by releasing Waller. The tight end has already forfeited earning $200,000 in workout bonuses this offseason.

Before dealing with injuries the past two seasons, Waller was one of the game’s best tight ends from 2019-21 following an unusual start to his career. The Baltimore Ravens selected him in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, playing him as a wide receiver. He moved to tight end in 2016, but was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He was suspended for the entire 2017 season for violating the substance-abuse policy again.

Waller joined the Raiders in 2018 after he was waived by the Ravens. He spent most of that year on their practice squad before emerging in 2019, recording 90 receptions for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that by recording 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020, earning his first and only Pro Bowl nod.