Brian Daboll Declines to Update Darren Waller's Status

Waller has still not made up his mind regarding his football future.

The New York Giants opened their off-season program on Monday, and head coach Brian Daboll said he was "very happy and pleased" with the attendance at the voluntary program.

Daboll is not obligated to disclose who attended the opening session and who did not, so it was no surprise that he declined to answer questions about whether veteran tight end Darren Waller, who has been contemplating retiring since last season, was in attendance.  

"Understand the question, but I have nothing to add on that from what (general manager) Joe (Schoen) talked about a couple of weeks ago at the ownership meeting," Daboll said, adding he had "nothing else to add at this time."

Schoen told reporters at last month's league meeting that Waller was still exploring whether to participate in another season or call it quits. Schoen also indicated that there was no hard deadline regarding when the team needed an answer from Waller, who confirmed that he hadn't made up his mind in an exclusive interview with Giants Country earlier this month.

For their part, the Giants have not let Waller hijack any draft plans at the position. They have been doing due diligence on the top tight end prospects in this year's class. They signed Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz in free agency and re-signed Lawrence Cager, including third-year man Daniel Bellinger, to add to the room.

Waller told The Athletic that he intended to make a decision by the time OTAs wrapped, which would put the time frame in mid-June. Waller's intentions—he has been trying to launch a music recording career—could also involve him trying to get fully healthy from his injury-plagued first season as a Giant, which saw him land on injured reserve mid-season with an ongoing hamstring issue.

Waller's delay in deciding could help the Giants out financially. If he does decide to retire after June 1, the cap savings will jump from $6.7 million to $11.625 million, while the dead money hit would shrink from $7.376 million to jsut $2.458 million (with the remaining dead money hitting the team's 2025 cap).

Waller, acquired in a trade last season from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a third-round draft pick, appeared in 12 games and played 51.4 percent of the snaps. He had 52 receptions for 552 yards and one touchdown.

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