Waller said Wednesday that he's still undecided on retirement but will make a decision "pretty soon," Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. While he doesn't expect to decide before the start of the 2024 league year March 11, the 31-year-old tight end said he doesn't want it become "this drawn-out thing" and will give the Giants time to adjust if they end up needing to replace him. If he waits too long the team might take the decision out of his hands, as Waller doesn't have any guarantees remaining on his contract and is scheduled for at least $12 million in compensation each of the next three seasons. The Giants can free up $11.625 million in cap space by declaring Waller as a post-June 1 release, though multiple reports have suggested they'd rather have him back. The tight end was on pace to catch 85 passes for 923 yards through seven games in 2023 before a Week 8 hamstring injury derailed his season and led to a third straight year with at least five missed games. He had 2,341 yards and 12 TDs in 32 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, compared to 1,605 yards and six TDs in 32 games over the past three years combined.
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Latest Darren Waller news
2023 Statistics
Receiving
Latest News
Should decide on retirement soon
Waller said Wednesday that he's still undecided on retirement but will make a decision "pretty soon," Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. While he doesn't expect to decide before the start of the 2024 league year March 11, the 31-year-old tight end said he doesn't want it become "this drawn-out thing" and will give the Giants time to adjust if they end up needing to replace him. If he waits too long the team might take the decision out of his hands, as Waller doesn't have any guarantees remaining on his contract and is scheduled for at least $12 million in compensation each of the next three seasons. The Giants can free up $11.625 million in cap space by declaring Waller as a post-June 1 release, though multiple reports have suggested they'd rather have him back. The tight end was on pace to catch 85 passes for 923 yards through seven games in 2023 before a Week 8 hamstring injury derailed his season and led to a third straight year with at least five missed games. He had 2,341 yards and 12 TDs in 32 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, compared to 1,605 yards and six TDs in 32 games over the past three years combined.
Not certain to return after all
Waller still hasn't decided whether he will return to the Giants for the 2024 season or retire, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports. Early Friday, news emerged that Waller had contemplated retirement during the offseason but ultimately decided to return. However, the veteran tight end subsequently texted the Post to explain that, despite those reports, he is undecided about retirement. New York gave up a third-round draft pick to acquire Waller from the Raiders in March of 2023, and it's safe to assume that the organization was expecting to get more than one season out of him when making that deal. If Waller does decide to retire, it would be a significant blow to the Giants' air attack, as he ranked second on the team with 52 catches and 552 receiving yards last season despite playing in only 12 games.
Expected back in New York for 2024
Waller thought about retiring earlier this offseason, but he'll continue playing football and isn't expected to be a cap casualty, Paul Schwartz and Ryan Dunleavy of the NY Post report. A midseason hamstring injury cost Waller five games in 2023, his first year with the Giants and third straight season missing at least five contests. He has three years remaining on his contract but no salary guarantees, with the Giants able to add around $11.6 million in 2024 cap space by declaring the tight end as a post-June 1 cut (or waiting until June to trade him). It sounds like player and team want to give things another shot in New York, hoping Waller can stay relatively healthy for the first time since 2020 even though he'll turn 32 in September. He was on pace to catch 85 passes for 923 yards through seven games in 2023 before the hamstring injury derailed his season Week 8. Waller missed the next five games and then played less than two-thirds of snaps on offense in each of the final four weeks of the season.
Won't play Sunday
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com previously reported Wednesday that Waller could be facing a multi-week absence, and the fact that the tight end has already been deemed out for Sunday's game confirms that his status beyond Week 9 is cloudy. As long as Waller is sidelined, Daniel Bellinger is in line to see an uptick in snaps as the Giants' top option at tight end.
Injures hamstring Sunday
Before his departure from the contest, Waller caught one of his two targets for four yards. With Waller done for the day, Daniel Bellinger is slated to handle the Giants' Week 8 tight end duties.
Deemed questionable, should play
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com relays that the Giants have confidence Waller will be available this weekend, even though the tight end was a limited participant in practices Wednesday through Friday. Waller is coming off a season-best 8-97-1 receiving line in last week's win over the Commanders and is on track to again serve as the top target for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who will make a third consecutive start in place of Daniel Jones (neck). Jones still doesn't have medical clearance for contact and appears in serious danger of missing more games beyond Week 8
Dealing with hamstring issue
Waller previously was plagued by a hamstring injury Weeks 1 and 2, but he played through it and has yet to miss a game as a member of the Giants. Overall, he's put together a respectable 35-380-1 receiving line on 49 targets while working with two different quarterbacks in Daniel Jones (neck) and Tyrod Taylor. Still, Waller's status will be one to monitor as the week goes on to ensure he's on pace to suit up Sunday versus the Jets.
Not seen at practice
Head coach Brian Daboll said Waller would be a limited participant, suggesting the tight end may still join his teammates once he's done getting treatment for an unspecified injury. Waller is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season, having caught seven of eight targets for 98 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 14-7 win over the Commanders. The Giants don't sound too worried about their star tight end's availability for a matchup with the Jets this Sunday.
Player Profile
Career History
Career Stats
Career Stats
Receiving
Year | Team | GP | REC | TGTS | YDS | AVG | TDS | LNG | YAC | YDS/G |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | NYG | 12 | 52 | 74 | 552 | 11 | 1 | 29 | 211 | 46 |
2022 | LV | 9 | 28 | 43 | 388 | 14 | 3 | 34 | 80 | 43 |
2021 | LV | 11 | 55 | 93 | 665 | 12 | 2 | 33 | 242 | 61 |
2020 | LV | 16 | 107 | 145 | 1,196 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 572 | 75 |
2019 | OAK | 16 | 90 | 117 | 1,145 | 13 | 3 | 75 | 570 | 72 |
2018 | OAK | 4 | 6 | 6 | 75 | 13 | 0 | 44 | 56 | 19 |
2016 | BAL | 12 | 10 | 17 | 85 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 39 | 7 |
2015 | BAL | 6 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 3 |
Season Stats
2023 Regular Season Stats
Fantasy Projections
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Game Log
2023 Regular Season
|
receiving
|
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date
|
Opp
|
Result
|
REC
|
TGTS
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TDS
|
LNG
|
YAC
|
1/7
|
W 27-10
|
5
|
6
|
45
|
9
|
0
|
23
|
7
|
|
12/31
|
L 25-26
|
5
|
6
|
51
|
10.2
|
0
|
18
|
29
|
|
12/25
|
L 25-33
|
2
|
5
|
32
|
16
|
0
|
20
|
5
|
|
12/17
|
L 6-24
|
4
|
6
|
40
|
10
|
0
|
29
|
28
|
|
10/29
|
L 10-13
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
|
10/22
|
W 14-7
|
7
|
8
|
98
|
14
|
1
|
27
|
31
|
|
10/15
|
L 9-14
|
5
|
7
|
43
|
8.6
|
0
|
20
|
23
|
|
10/8
|
L 16-31
|
8
|
11
|
86
|
10.8
|
0
|
21
|
35
|
|
10/2
|
L 3-24
|
3
|
3
|
21
|
7
|
0
|
8
|
9
|
|
9/21
|
L 12-30
|
3
|
7
|
20
|
6.7
|
0
|
9
|
6
|
|
9/17
|
W 31-28
|
6
|
8
|
76
|
12.7
|
0
|
25
|
23
|
|
9/10
|
L 0-40
|
3
|
5
|
36
|
12
|
0
|
22
|
14
|
|
Regular Season Totals |
52
|
74
|
552
|
10.1
|
1
|
29
|
211
|