Darren Waller Comes Out Of Retirement, Traded To Miami In Shocking Deal With Giants

Retired tight end Darren Waller is returning to the NFL after being traded from the Giants to the Dolphins, adding intrigue to Miami’s revamped offense and fantasy football outlook.

Former New York Giants tight end Darren Waller (12) catches the ball during the first half Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After a flurry of trades with the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, which ultimately saw cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith head to Pitt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick head back to the Miami Dolphins along with a late-round pick swap, the Dolphins are making another move today. This one was a bit of a shocker with Miami acquiring a retired tight end from the New York Giants. Darren Waller is coming out of retirement to play for the Dolphins. The Giants will receive a conditional sixth-round pick in the deal and also send back a seventh-rounder. 

Dolphins finalizing a trade with the #Giants for TE Darren Waller, who is coming out of retirement to play in Miami. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/lZ0qN98YFd

— NFL (@NFL) July 1, 2025

The 32-year-old tight end was always an athletic freak who has displayed massive upside as a pass-catcher throughout his career. He topped 1,000 yards in both 2019 and 2020, with his career best season coming in 2020 with the now Las Vegas Raiders, in which he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. However, he surprisingly retired last June after a medical situation that left him hospitalized for more than three days. The rest of the details have not been released. 

What this means for the Dolphins is still very much up in the air. The fact that they didn't invest much in Waller does not prevent them from adding another tight end via either free agency or trade this summer. Waller is likely little more than a lottery ticket who has the physical capabilities of filling the same role that Smith had before being traded yesterday.

Darren Waller Fantasy Football Impact

This is a hard player to gauge, considering he is coming out of retirement. Last year, we saw Smith at the age of 29 have a breakout season with 88 catches for 884 yards and eight TDs. It's unlikely Waller can repeat that, but it's not inconceivable that he comes close. It's much more likely that Waller serves in a rotational role where he catches between 30 and 40 passes if he's close to the player he once was.

The big winner from all of this is De'Von Achane, who could now somehow see even more targets than last year with Smith gone if defenses continue to take away Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle downfield.