Darren Waller Signing May Spell Doom for One Exciting, Frustrating Panther

One tight end may not see as many snaps now that Darren Waller has arrived

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The Carolina Panthers have long been without a pure pass-catching tight end who can add another layer to the offense. On Wednesday night, Carolina made a move attempting to fix that hole.

The Panthers signed former Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller to a one-year deal, bringing in a tight end who has played at an elite level before and even showed flashes of his remaining upside in 2025.

In nine games of action with the Miami Dolphins, Waller performed well, posting 24 catches, 283 receiving yards, and 6 touchdowns. That's awesome production from someone who was coming out of retirement to play.

The impressive part of Waller's comeback was that it was midseason. Now Waller gets to join Carolina during training camp, learn Dave Canales' and Brad Idzik's offensive system, and build chemistry with Bryce Young. It'd certainly be better to have Waller sign earlier in the offseason, but it's still better late than never.

There are certainly risks to the signing; not all of them are even directly associated with Waller, but they do affect other tight ends on the roster.

Ja'Tavion Sanders Is the Loser of the Darren Waller Signing

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Sanders has been the best receiving threat in the Carolina tight ends room for the last two years. That being said, Sanders has just been a fun idea for the Panthers; the production hasn't matched the talent.

Sanders is affected the most out of all the Panthers' tight ends. This is because he cannot block at all. Mitchell Evans isn't the most prominent pass catcher, but he's 6'5 and 260 pounds, making him a useful asset in the run game.

Even with Sanders's speed, which makes him a fun idea as a receiving threat, he doesn't make plays. Waller came out of retirement, played just nine games, and still put up significantly better numbers than Sanders did.

Sanders, in 13 games, recorded 29 catches for 190 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Sanders struggles to make contested catches, which is shown in a graph that was dropped back in July

Who were the best contested catch tight ends last season?

Contested Target Rate vs Contested Catch Success Rate
2025 NFL Season (TEs, Min. 200 routes) pic.twitter.com/JsTPapmb7j

— I Don’t Watch Film (Football Analytics) (@NoFilm_Analysis) July 16, 2026

As shown, Sanders, being towards the bottom left of that graph, has one of the worst contested catch rates among qualifying tight ends who qualify.

It's not that contested catch rate is the end-all, be-all of the tight end position, but having a tight end who can offer that is a bonus to an offense. Waller certainly has a better chance of adding that element than Sanders does.

Waller still has to make the roster, but on paper, this could be curtains for Sanders and the possibility of having a big role in Carolina.