Raiders Darren Waller: The “holdout” that was, and how it all came to an end

Raiders Darren Waller: The “holdout” that was, and how it all came to an end

Hunter Renfrow is next to get paid, and Waller is potentially on his way to Green Bay.. maybe?

The trio of Crosby, Adams, and Carr were thinking about their teammates when each of the three put the pen to the paper, and it paid off.

In June, Las Vegas announced a two-year extension for Hunter Renfrow, locking up the Pro Bowl receiver on yet another team-friendly deal. Currently, with the extension in place, Renfrow sits as the 23rd-highest annually paid receiver in the NFL. Why did he accept such a bargain? Well, if you’ve paid attention to the trend here, it isn’t hard to figure out; Others still needed to be paid.

By others, of course, I mean Darren Waller.

For multiple reasons, Waller’s negotiations didn’t go over well with the media. He suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for weeks, resulting in many fans assuming this had to do with his current contract situation. On another occasion, Waller went to watch his girlfriend Kelsey Plum play across the street in her WNBA game before a preseason contest kicking off.

Plum plays for the Las Vegas Aces; a WNBA team that Raiders owner Mark Davis also owns. Davis himself attended the game in question, sitting separately from Waller, after giving Waller permission to go see the game across the street – literally, across the street. Josh McDaniels stated he believes Waller showed up to the preseason showdown before it even began. Still, this struck fear in Raider Nation.

The worry about Waller’s contract situation stemmed from an earlier rumor in the offseason, where the Raiders were believed to be discussing a trade that sent Waller to Green Bay.

These rumors turned out to be blatantly untrue.

Cheesehead TV’s Aaron Nagler lit the fire on this rumor when he claimed Green Bay pursued Darren Waller as a return investment in the Davante Adams trade – that part is true. Nagler also went on to state both sides were informed a player currently under contract (Waller) cannot be involved in a trade for a player on an unsigned franchise tag (Adams). This rule also exists.

However, the intent behind this message was incredibly misleading. The Raiders had no intent in trading Waller, nor was a deal ever taken seriously. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe cleared that up in the later afternoon.

And just like that, the rumor of Green Bay potentially acquiring Darren Waller was history. Let’s move on to Waller’s new contract.