Back in early July, the Miami Dolphins made a trade for retired New York Giants tight end Darren Waller. Waller was once a top-three tight end in the NFL and the Dolphins needed to fill a void following the Jonnu Smith trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Since then, all anyone has heard is general injury news and questions about if/when he’ll be ready to play. Well, it seems like now he’s going to suit up for this week’s game against the New York Jets and, to the surprise of no one, he’ll be on a pitch count.
Head coach Mike McDaniel was asked on Monday if his snaps will be monitored.
“Yes,” said McDaniel. “I wouldn’t go to all these lengths, have all this build up and then throw him out there for 60 [snaps] or something. I kind of have an idea, roughly, of what it is, but we’ll see if that idea plays through the practice week.”
McDaniel says he’ll us Darren Waller sparingly
In 2020, Waller went off to the tune of 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. He hasn’t caught more than 55 balls in a season since and he was out of football in 2004. In short, no one knows how good Waller would be even if he was fully healthy and starting for the Dolphins.
With that in mind, it’s not difficult to wonder how much the Dolphins will even get out of him in limited time in Week 4 of 2025.
“We’re excited to see him, but it will be some sort of situational snap count or a package type thing as opposed to just unleashing him,” McDaniel said.
In terms of fantasy production, I hope it doesn’t need to be said that there is no way you should even consider starting Waller unless you’re in a 20-team league. The same can be said of whether or not he even deserves a roster spot on your team.
The Darren Waller saga has dragged on since July
Since the trade, we’ve heard the Dolphins‘ coaches say that they are working him in slowly and trying to get him into game shape. Holding out hope that Waller is going to provide some sort of spark to the team’s offense is a fool’s errand. McDaniel was even being cautious with his approach as recently as this month.
“We’re being very intentional with how we practice with Darren to do right by the Dolphins and do right by him,” McDaniel said at the beginning of September. “We have not pressed the threshold of three days consecutive intentionally. And tomorrow’s practice is third down, followed by the red zone emphasis. So it was intentional for him. You won’t see him today, but that’s not because of a setback.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the NFL a long time, and as a result, found there’s been multiple different ways for players at different positions to impact the game. And the intentionality of bringing Darren here was real, but we’re also working through the process of playing good football, not depending on Darren.”
Now, it sounds like Waller will suit up against the Jets, but the odds of him having a significant impact on the game are minimal.
Dolphins Will Keep New Acquisition on Snap Count