Giants Rumors: NYG Expect Darren Waller to Retire amid NFL Contract Decision for 2024

Darren Waller’s NFL career is expected to come to an end after nine seasons.

Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Waller is likely to make a decision about his future ahead of New York Giants mandatory minicamp next week and the expectation from people within the organization is he will retire.

The 31-year-old Waller is under contract for three more seasons with a $10.5 million base salary in 2024, but there is no guaranteed money remaining on the deal.

If Waller does retire, the Giants will take a dead cap charge of $7.9 million and save $6.2 million against the cap this season.

Waller spent last season with the Giants after being acquired in a March 2023 trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.

There was some confusion at one point this offseason about Waller’s status.

Paul Schwartz and Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reported on March 1 the 31-year-old decided to return in 2024 after telling individuals within the Giants organization he was contemplating retirement.

Speaking to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan on March 7, Waller explained he was “undecided at the moment” about continuing to play:

“It’s really the idea of signing up for another journey. 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.”

Speaking to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur on April 9, Waller said the “ideal” scenario would have him make a decision before the start of the NFL draft, but he didn’t want to put that pressure on himself.

“It’s gotta be before summer break, for sure,” he added.

Injuries have been a recurring problem for Waller. He has missed 29 games over the past three seasons after playing all 16 games during the 2020 campaign while playing for the Raiders.

Waller entered the NFL in 2015 as a sixth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens. He was originally a wide receiver before converting to tight end going into his second season.

Off-field issues caused problems for Waller early in his career. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.

A second violation of the substance-abuse policy resulted in Waller being suspended for the entire 2017 campaign. He was reinstated by the league in August 2017 after completing a rehab program.

In a 2020 interview with CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, Waller explained he “had countless failed drug tests” and “didn’t really have any relationships with guys on my team” early in his career.

The Las Vegas Raiders signed Waller off the Ravens’ practice squad in November 2018. He had a breakout season in 2019 with 1,145 receiving yards. That was followed up with a career-high 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2020 season to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.

Waller’s 3,946 receiving yards from 2019 to ’23 were the fifth-most among all tight ends. If this the end of his playing career, he will finish his with 4,124 yards and 20 touchdowns in 86 games.