{"id":173617,"date":"2025-07-01T18:31:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/173617\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T18:31:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:31:11","slug":"darren-wallers-nfl-return-from-retirement-miami-dolphins-acquire-star-player-from-new-york-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/173617\/","title":{"rendered":"Darren Waller’s NFL return from retirement: Miami Dolphins acquire star player from New York Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darren Waller has been acquired by the Miami Dolphins<\/a> NFL from the New York Giants, in an unexpected turn of events. Waller who retired before the 2024 season is set to make a comeback.<\/p>\n

A shocking return from retirement<\/p>\n

Darren Waller is set to make a comeback to the NFL<\/a> with the Miami Dolphins after he retired at the age of 31. Waller cited a medical scare and a waning passion for football as reasons for stepping away while focusing on his music career.<\/p>\n

At the time of his retirement, he was with the New York Giants, who retained his rights. According to ESPN, Waller\u2019s agents, Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, confirmed the trade, which sees the Giants sending Waller and a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick to Miami in exchange for a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick. Waller, who will turn 33 in September, has signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins worth around $5 million.<\/p>\n

How can Darren Waller officially be part of a game after retirement?<\/p>\n

As Darren Waller is officially retired, he must first be reinstated from the NFL\u2019s reserve\/retired list before taking the field.<\/p>\n

Filling the void left by Jonnu Smith<\/p>\n

The Dolphins\u2019 decision to pursue Waller comes shortly after trading tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a deal that also involved star<\/a> cornerback Jalen Ramsey and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Smith, who set Miami\u2019s franchise records for a tight end with 88 receptions and 884 receiving yards last season, was an important part of the Dolphins\u2019 offensive scheme.<\/p>\n

Darren Waller\u2019s arrival is expected to fill the void created by Smith. His 2023 season with the Giants was modest with 52 receptions for 552 yards and one touchdown over 12 games. In 2020, Waller earned a Pro Bowl nod with a league-leading 107 catches, 1,196 yards, and nine touchdowns among tight ends.<\/p>\n

What is next for Waller and the Dolphins?<\/p>\n

For the Miami Dolphins, Waller\u2019s addition is a chance to strengthen an offense that thrives on remarkable players. At 33, questions remain about whether he can return to his Pro Bowl form, but his experience and skills make him a good fit for Miami\u2019s high-octane attack.<\/p>\n

The Giants made a smart move by trading a retired player, Darren Waller, for a sixth-round draft pick. This shows that GM Joe Schoen and the team\u2019s management are sharp, turning a player who\u2019s no longer active into a valuable asset for the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

As Waller prepares to step into Jonnu Smith\u2019s role, all eyes will be on whether he can reignite the spark that made him one of the NFL\u2019s well known tight ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Darren Waller has been acquired by the Miami Dolphins NFL from the New York Giants, in an unexpected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[38304,38307,38306,38305,217,7,216,251,2087,6,14566],"class_list":{"0":"post-173617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-darren-waller-dolphins","9":"tag-darren-waller-retirement","10":"tag-darren-waller-return","11":"tag-darren-waller-trade","12":"tag-dolphins","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-miami","15":"tag-miami-dolphins","16":"tag-miamidolphins","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-ny-giants"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114779408798215191","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}