Why did Darren Waller retire? Giants TE steps away after one season in New York | Sporting News Australia

The Giants have spent three months awaiting Darren Waller’s retirement decision after the tight end revealed in March that he was considering stepping away. They now have their answer.

Waller is indeed retiring from the NFL after nine seasons, the last of which was spent in New York. He informed the team on Sunday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

The decision caps a whirlwind of an offseason for the former Pro-Bowler, who divorced WNBA star Kelsey Plum in April and recently released a bizarre song and music video about the split. Waller’s retirement talk began well before the divorce, so calling off his football career has been on his mind for some time.

Here’s a closer look at why Waller decided to retire after one season with the Giants.

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Why did Darren Waller retire?

Waller told The Athletic in March that he wasn’t sure he would be “all the way in” if he played another season.

“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.”

Waller explained that playing without being fully committed is a “disservice” to the rest of the team, and he confirmed that his lengthy injury history was a factor — albeit a small one — in his retirement thoughts.

“But that’s not the driving force behind making the decision. It isn’t just frustration from a health standpoint. It’s a lot deeper than that,” Waller said.

Waller said he would be deciding “pretty soon,” but it took three months before the Giants received confirmation that he wouldn’t be returning in 2024. While Waller’s health was far from certain to keep him on the field for 17 games or anything close, the veteran still could’ve been a useful target for QB Daniel Jones given New York’s many question marks outside of rookie WR Malik Nabers.

It isn’t clear how much, if at all, Waller’s split from Plum factored into his decision. He considered retirement before the divorce was announced, but his recent song release is a reminder that Waller is still going through some emotions from the breakup.

Waller insisted his injury history was only part of the equation when it came to a potential retirement, but it’s been a long road for the 31-year-old over the past three seasons. He’s missed 37 percent of regular season games since 2021 largely due to nagging injuries, struggling to get anywhere near his 1,100-yard production from 2019 and 2020.

Now, Waller is starting fresh away from the field just a year after he got a fresh start in New York.

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Darren Waller stats

Waller was a major success story with the Raiders, as he was initially an afterthought in Baltimore after the Ravens made him a late-round pick in 2015. Despite totaling just 178 yards over his first four years in the NFL, Waller broke out in a major way with 1,145 yards in 2019 and sustained that production in 2020.

Darren Waller contract

Waller signed a three-year, $51 million contract extension with the Raiders in 2022. The deal included $22 million in guarantees and ran through 2026.

Waller was set to earn $12 million in 2024 and count $14.1 million against the salary cap. He was under contract for $40 million through 2026, though the Giants could have found their way out of it after 2024 without having to pay most of what Waller is owed.

The Giants freed up $11.6 million in immediate cap space with Waller’s retirement, allowing them to have some more flexibility going forward. It’s tough to spend that kind of money at this stage of the offseason, but New York can roll it over to 2025 and take advantage of free agency when more talent is on the market.

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Giants TE depth chart

The Giants don’t have an immediate Waller replacement on their roster, but they do have depth.

Daniel Bellinger played a sizable role over his first two NFL seasons, starting 13 games in 2023 with 255 yards and an 89.3-percent catch rate. Primarily a blocking tight end to this point, Bellinger is likely first in line for a larger role with Waller out of the picture.

New York added some insurance by selecting Penn State’s Theo Johnson at No. 107 overall in April’s draft. Johnson has blocking capabilities and finished with 341 yards and seven touchdowns in his final collegiate season.

Stoll has 20 career catches between three seasons with the Eagles, while Cager has only 19 career catches but has a familiarity advantage after spending parts of the past two seasons in Brian Daboll’s system with the Giants.