Darren Waller traded to Dolphins: Ex-Pro Bowler joins short list of retired tight ends who returned to NFL

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After sitting out for a year, Darren Waller has decided to make a return to the NFL and the former Pro Bowl tight end will be making that return in Miami after the Dolphins acquired him in a trade with the New York Giants on Tuesday. 

Waller, who spent the 2023 season in New York, ended up retiring because he didn’t like the way he was being used with the Giants. He recently revealed that he made the decision to call it quits after a Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills in 2023

“I knew I was retiring when we played in Buffalo,” Waller said in mid-June. “It was a game where it was really controversial because one of the guys held me at the end, and they didn’t call it. It was in the first quarter of the game, we were running like this counter-lead running play, and I’m kind of like leading through the hole like I’m a fullback. And the play is working, but I sit down on the sideline after a drive where we ran it like three times, and I’m like, ‘What the f— am I doing with my life? I’m out here playing fullback. I don’t even wanna do this shit anymore.'”

The Dolphins were in need of a tight end after trading Jonnu Smith to the Steelers on Monday in a blockbuster deal that also saw Jalen Ramsey shipped off to Pittsburgh in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Smith racked up 88 catches for the Dolphins last season, which led the team, so if Waller still has anything left in the tank, he could put up some big numbers in Miami. 

It’s not easy for a player to sit out for an entire year and then return to the NFL, but the good news for Waller is that if there’s one position where it seems to be possible, it’s at tight end. Over the past eight years, there have been two prominent tight ends who each sat out for one season before making an NFL return. 

Let’s take a look at the two names: 

After 15 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Witten decided to hang up his cleats following the 2017 season. After sitting out in 2018, Witten made the decision to return in 2019 and he actually ended up playing for two more years. 

Let’s check out what his production looked like in the year before he retired and the season after he came back: 

• 2017: 63 catches for 560 yards and five touchdowns
• 2019: 63 catches for 529 yards and four touchdowns

As you can see, there wasn’t much of a fall off for Witten, who put up nearly identical numbers in 2019 as he did before his retirement in 2017. Witten was certainly helped by the fact that he was in a familiar system: He got to play for the same team (Dallas) and for the same quarterback (Dak Prescott) in both 2017 and 2019, which is a luxury that Waller won’t have. 

Witten did end up playing in 2020, but his final season came in Las Vegas, not Dallas. During his lone season with the Raiders, Witten caught just 13 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. However, Witten was 38 years old at this point while Waller is only 32 (but he does turn 33 in September).

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Gronk famously retired in March 2019, just two months after helping the New England Patriots win their sixth Super Bowl. In a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Gronkowski caught six passes for 87 yards. After sitting out the 2019 season, Gronk wasn’t planning to make a return to the NFL, but Tom Brady’s decision to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers changed things for the five-time Pro Bowl tight end. 

In April 2020, the Bucs pulled off a shocking trade for Gronk, who decided to come out of retirement to join Brady. Even though they spent a season apart, they didn’t miss a beat when Gronk returned to the field. 

Let’s check out what Gronk’s production looked like in the year before he retired and the season after he came back: 

• 2018 (Patriots): 47 catches for 682 yards and three touchdowns
• 2020 (Buccaneers): 45 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns

Like Witten, Gronk put up similar numbers in the year before his retirement and the year after his retirement. Gronk actually became a huge red zone weapon for Brady as he more then doubled his 2018 touchdown total with seven touchdown catches in 2020. Gronk also played a major role in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV with six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns. 

Statistically, Gronk was even better in 2021, catching 55 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns. His yardage total marked the first time since 2017 that he had gone over 800 yards receiving. Of course, Gronk did have one huge advantage that Waller won’t have and that’s the fact that he was playing with a quarterback with whom he had great chemistry.

Waller will be going to a new team and he’ll have a new quarterback, so he certainly won’t be in the same situation as either Gronkowski or Witten, but he’s going to an offense that puts up huge numbers. Smith caught 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns for Miami last season, with his receptions and touchdown totals leading the team. 

One advantage that Waller will have heading to Miami is that he’s familiar with Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, who was his position coach for three years with the Raiders (2018-20). If anyone knows how to utilize Waller, it’s Smith. In both 2019 and 2020, Waller caught at least 90 passes for over 1,100 yards in each season. 

If Waller isn’t rusty after a year off, he could end up being incredibly productive in his first year out of retirement, just like Gronk and Witten. 

This news was originally published on this post .

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