After a troubled start to his NFL career, Darren Waller was famously poached from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad by head coach Jon Gruden. With the Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders, he became a star, posting over 1,100 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons.
Unfortunately, injuries became a recurring issue, costing Waller a total of 14 games over the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. In March of 2023, the franchise decided that enough was enough, and he was traded to the New York Giants.
After another injury-shortened season with the Giants in 2023, Waller announced his retirement in June of 2024. He began making music as another career, so it seemed like his decision to step away from the NFL was final.
Then in July, the Giants, who still had his rights, traded Waller to the Miami Dolphins. In Miami, the former Pro Bowler reunited with Frank Smith, who was the Raiders' tight ends coach from 2018-2020 and is now the Dolphins' offensive coordinator.
Darren Waller's future feels inevitable after latest news
As could've been expected after a full year out of football, Waller started Dolphins camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. On August 20, he was finally taken off the PUP list, but on the first practice report of the season, he was listed as a non-participant due to a hip injury.
Waller did not practice again on Thursday, casting doubt about his availability for Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. On Friday, ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques reported that Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that Waller suffered a setback before Thursday's practice and he is now doubtful to play against the Colts.
Calling Waller "doubtful" is just shy of declaring him out. If caution is still the plan with him, he won't be suiting up on Sunday, and McDaniel should have just said so. It's fair to assume Waller's status for Week 2 will be iffy as well, barring a significant turnaround in the condition of his hip.
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Waller openly admitted that he decided to retire fairly early in the 2023 season while playing for the Giants, as a repeated play call during a game apparently led to him asking himself existential questions.
After not practicing during the Dolphins' training camp, not being allowed or able to practice every day in some capacity after was taken off the PUP list, and now dealing with a documented hip injury, it's worth wondering where Waller's mindset is right now.
A season away was supposed to leave him refreshed, physically and mentally, but now he is dealing with an injury that could linger. Props to Waller for giving football another shot with the one team he said he would come back to play for.
But if this hip injury remains a thing beyond this week, and it's fair to assume it won't go away quickly, he might be better off calling it a career, for good this time. He'll always be a legendary player in Raiders lore, and the results of this season won't change that.