Darren Waller meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Darren Waller meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Can you just kind of tell us said you wanted to play for the Dolphins like from your perspective how it all came together to come here? Yeah, it was this the timing of that was really strange. Um I got this uh I heard this phone called a light phone last like February. So I’m not really hip to anything that really goes on on the internet anymore. So, it was like the timing of that happened to be when I called him and was like, “Hey, like, you know, I’m reaching this point in just my life journey where I feel like it’d be something that I want to do to come back to football.” And, uh, this is a place where, you know, I’d want to do it. I was content in my retirement, but also felt like this was opportunity for me to uh, you know, if this is my last chapter playing football to close it in a way that’s different than I did before. Um, and one that allows me to tap into the joy of why I started doing it in the first place. So, uh, yeah, Drew helped orchestrate that. Uh, he’s the best in the business and, uh, I’m just grateful to be here. So, you had no knowledge that Johnny Lee had just been traded before you made the call to Drew or No, from what he told to me like it was being in it was being orchestrated at the time that I called him, but when it got the deal was done, I had no knowledge that it was being done. Darren, you uh, Casey Hens from WPG in Miami. Nice to meet you. You obviously are reconnecting with Frank Smith. Can you just speak a little bit about that relationship and how much that played into Frank is my guy, man. Um, so when I got claimed off the Ravens practice squad in 2018, I got to the Raiders and he was my tight end coach, you know, met me at the door and one of the first things he was interested in was what do I need as a man like in, you know, my newfound sobriety, like whatever I need to just be solid as a human being. And that struck me a lot. And then just his knowledge of the game, the culture that he created, not only in our room, but just with how he interacted with players, I thought was rare in coaches I had seen to that point. And you know, some of the best years of my career were with him in the room. And uh just some of my best football memories overall. So to be able to reconnect with him is amazing. Darren Alutler from UPI. How’s it going? Good. How are you? Um we’ve heard that you had kind of a fading passion for the game and then you had this itch to play again. Were there specific moments last year during the season that um kind of got you that itch to get back in the game? Uh yeah. I feel like just um like times where I watched the game. I didn’t watch a ton of games last year, but when I would watch it was just like just watching the game be played and just like being with like friends and stuff and like they’re asking me questions about what’s going on in the game and like kind of like kind of giving them some generic answers and it’s just realizing like okay like there’s been a lot of times where I’ve wrestled and that joy has kind of been elusive but um it’s there. I’ve always found moments where it came back and uh it’s something I have been able to experience and I feel like that’s possible uh this time around and I’m already having a lot of fun just being here being amongst these coaches, amongst the players, amongst the staff. It’s uh it’s already been a lot of fun. Yeah. What do you expect to bring to this team, you know, especially at your position? Uh I expect to bring playmaking ability. Um there’s a lot of guys on this team that can do amazing things with the ball. I’m excited to just be a part of that group. Um, I feel like I can bring uh just some just some wisdom and experience to not only my position room, but to the team. You know, I’ve I feel like everything you could probably experience uh except probably winning a Super Bowl is something I’ve gone through, whether it’s been drafted late, core special teams guy, suspended from the league, practice squad, starter, pro bowler, traded a couple times. Like, there are guys that are going through situations and going through things that uh may need somebody to lean on and talk to. I feel like I could be that as well, but uh most importantly just somebody that um does their job at a high level. So why why M why why Miami? Is it the city, the team? Did you have connections uh that that made you want to come here? Uh yeah, just answering the question about uh uh Coach Frank Smith was a was a big deal of why I wanted to be here. And just seeing the way that um you know they they do things like the way Mike is so like innovative and the weapons that are on offense. Um, and I got guys like Alec Ingold is a friend of mine from playing with him before and how highly he speaks of just being here, not only for the team and the community. So, it was somewhere I definitely wanted to be. How would you describe your approach to blocking? Uh, I feel like blocking is something you got to get in the mix. You got to got to get in there and get dirty. You know what I’m saying? Um, I I was made aware of the uh the clip that went uh went viral with the guy that I did the interview with with the Bills. And um I understand how people could probably take that a certain way of me not wanting to block. But I’m somebody that fully understands that there’s dirty work that needs to be done in football. Uh especially with all the guys that we have making plays. Like you got to get in the mix and do things you don’t want to do. I’ve done that numerous times in my career. Uh so that is is who I am. That’s the effort I’m going to bring into blocking. Um it may not be just the whole game running power right behind me. Um but there are definitely a lot of creative ways in which uh I have no problem getting my hands dirty. Darren, how would you uh describe the conditioning and physical transition from retirement getting back to to game shape? What’s been the most challenging part? Uh it’s a journey, man. Uh it’s just a a lot of uh my body just being like, “Oh, we’re doing we’re doing this again. we’re doing these movements again, you know, and it it just takes time, you know. So, it’s like, you know, me and uh the plan that these guys have for me for training camp, it may look a lot different than a lot of guys cuz it is a different situation, you know, like I’ve been in shape and doing a lot of crazy different workout things in my retirement, but it hasn’t been football specific movement. So, there needs to be a solid foundation that’s laid before you just go out there and just cuz I’m only going to want to go 120 uh%. So, uh sometimes you got to save me for myself. So, but uh it’s definitely a grind and uh something that uh you got to respect. Know that it takes time. You can’t just, you know, have the want to and the fantasy of going out there and making plays and think it just happens uh in the blink of an eye. It takes time and uh I’m I’m willing to see it through. What’s the most part about you being here? Whether it’s the sobriety being 32, the connection with Frank Smith, what’s the most impressive? Uh I don’t know, man. I just see God’s hands all over it, you know? uh like I said uh retiring it was uh you know at that time I thought I was done and done but you know there’s a lot a lot of turns in my life and in my career where uh you know God had different plans and this is another one and uh I’m excited to be here like like I said I shouldn’t even have uh been back on a team playing ball in 2018. So for me to still be here is something that I’m extremely grateful for and I’m definitely not going to take this opportunity for granted. Darren Marcel ESPN by the way welcome to Miami. Thank you. Besides sparingly watching football past season, what have you been up to in retirement? Um, uh, quite a bit. Uh, a lot of just like uh continued like inner work that I feel like uh needed to be done in my life. You know, I feel like getting sober and having a lot of successful things happen in my life fast was amazing. But there was that I feel like that was only the tip of the iceberg as far as just like me as a man, things that I needed to work on. Uh, like I traveled. I I went to Japan by myself for my birthday last year. Um, uh, my sister had a son, so I had a nephew, so I get to be around more family events like that, like friends birthdays, like being around their kids, like taking my friends kids to movies and stuff. Uh, I did like a high rocks challenge, but making music, like just um, tapping into the joy and things in my life, which I feel like has allowed me to open up space and shift my perspective to be like, you know, there’s a lot of joy that I’ve had in football, too. It’s uh, it’s done amazing things for my life. And uh I look back at that young inner child version of me and I love I was a football junkie, you know what I’m saying? So to honor that young kid is uh something that uh I’m excited to do. You had a high rock challenge. How was the Hierrox challenge for you? It was a grind, man. I don’t know if uh any of y’all uh looking to sign up or do one. But uh it’s it’s intense. It’s just so much different than football training. I would say it’s a it’s a heavy cardio base. You’re doing like five miles of running with sled pushes and sled pulls and rows and all types of wild stuff. So, uh, it was definitely a grind, but it I say it kept me in shape. Darren, going back to what you were saying about some of the things that you’ve been through. How do you compartmentalize sobriety, adversity, and now now football to kind of, I guess, write this new chapter that you were talking about? Uh, it’s a great question. I feel like it all works together. You know, I feel like for me to be as effective a football player, uh, I can be, uh, I need to be, uh, sober in all ways, sober in, uh, emotionally, um, and just like continuing to do, you know, what brought me here. uh continuing to put my recovery first, continuing to um read, continuing to, you know, keep a creative flow with the things that I like to do. I feel like all those things work in balance to allow me to approach the game with uh a full cup. Uh a lot to give. Uh not coming here to for what I can gain, but what can I what can I give to this team? What can I give to the fans? What can I give to whoever is tuning in and that uh may be looking for inspiration from somebody. Um, so I feel like it’s uh making sure that I’m living and I’m walking in a way where um, you know, what I’m preaching is what I’m practicing. And there I feel like there were times where I have weaved away from that a little bit, but I feel like in this last year, that’s something where I’ve gotten to lock in on. And I feel like I’m able to come into this environment and uh, be effective and stay grounded. I know when you I know when you left the game in 2023, you were kind of thinking like, what am I doing out here? as you decided when you came back, how do you uh you wrestle with the commitment factor that comes with NFL season of, hey, I’m gonna be in for, you know, through February potentially. Uh yeah, I feel like a lot of that time away allowed me to re-evaluate and understand that um you know, it’s a it’s a fulltime it’s a commitment through uh February. And uh when you’re coming in with a perspective of looking at all the little things that can bring you joy, I feel like it’s a lot different than the way I approached the game in 2023. Um, you know, I had a lot of, you know, good things going on in my life, but I just don’t really feel like my perspective was one as humble and as just like looking for the small joys as it was maybe earlier on in my career. And, uh, something that that’s probably going to be as valuable an experience I ever had playing football as I come in now and realizing like, you know, these chances aren’t just, you know, something you can go pick off a tree or just like anybody gets them any given day just walking off the street, you know? So, it’s uh, something I want to take advantage of and do it with a smile on my face.

Darren Waller meets with the media on the first day of training camp.

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