Getty Former Raiders TE Darren Waller.
For the past few years, Darren Waller was one of the faces of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was one of their best players and embraced the city of Las Vegas. However, things started to take a turn last season. Waller missed eight games due to a hamstring injury and didn’t have as big of a role in the offense when he was healthy.
The Raiders were the team that Waller became a breakout star with but things appeared to be growing stale. He was the subject of trade rumors last season but the team ultimately decided to give him a contract extension over trading him away. This offseason, Las Vegas decided to go in a different direction and traded him to the New York Giants for a low third-round pick.
While Waller wasn’t expecting to be traded and now has to move away from his new wife Kelsey Plum, who plays for the Las Vegas Aces, he appears to be looking forward to the new opportunity. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Waller is relieved to get away from the Raiders.
“Waller is excited for a fresh start in the NFL’s largest market. A ‘breath of fresh air,’ as one source close to Waller explained,” Raanan wrote.
Waller Had ‘Rocky’ Relationship With Raiders
Waller was a beloved player by former head coach Jon Gruden. If he didn’t resign in 2021, the star tight end wouldn’t be going anywhere. It doesn’t seem that his relationship with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler was nearly as close. Apparently, things only got worse when Waller wanted a contract extension last offseason.
“The relationship between Waller and McDaniels and Ziegler wasn’t contentious, but it became ‘rocky’ following the negotiations for Waller’s extension, according to a source close to Waller,” Raanan wrote.
Waller eventually won and became the highest-paid tight end in the NFL so there’s no reason he should’ve held any animosity. Perhaps Ziegler and McDaniels weren’t happy with how things went down, especially after the tight end missed all of those games last season.
Daniel Jones to Darren Waller 😃
Raiders Couldn’t Find Better Offer for Waller
The Raiders were widely panned for the Waller trade. They had a second-round pick offer from the Green Bay Packers last season and didn’t take it. Instead, they are ending up with essentially a fourth-round pick for one of the best tight ends in the NFL. However, Ziegler did try to find a better deal. Unfortunately, that Packers second-round pick was no longer on the table.
In the end, the Giants had the best offer and that’s what the Raiders accepted, per Raanan:
It was determined by everyone involved it would be a good match, if the teams could agree on compensation. The Giants were only willing to offer a third-round pick. In fact, it was their second third-round pick, which was almost a fourth-rounder considering it was a compensatory selection New York obtained from the Chiefs in the trade for wide receiver Kadarius Toney prior to last year’s deadline.
The Raiders and Ziegler looked for a better offer. Schoen wouldn’t budge on the price, and Las Vegas eventually agreed to the terms in the middle of the free agent negotiating period.