**Darren Waller Announces His Retirement**
As anticipated, tight end Darren Waller has informed the New York Giants of his decision to retire from the NFL. This announcement was made just before the start of the two-day mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday.
“The passion has slowly been fading. I’ve made the decision that I’ll be retiring from the NFL,” Waller said in a YouTube video. “Eternally grateful for the game of football.”
The Giants responded with a brief statement: “We have great respect for Darren as a person and player. We wish him nothing but the best.”
Waller had three years left on his 4-year, $51 million contract that the Giants restructured in March. His retirement will free up $11.625 million in salary cap space for 2024, with $2.458 million in dead money in 2024 and $4.917 million in dead money in 2025.
The Giants traded for Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2023, giving up a third-round pick. Waller was a standout in training camp and was expected to be a key part of the passing offense. However, a left hamstring injury, which had affected him in 2022, reappeared before the season started. Although he initially led the team in receptions, the injury hindered his performance. He then injured his right hamstring in Week 8, leading to a stint on Injured Reserve and missing five games. Waller returned for the last four games of the season, finishing with 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown in 12 games (11 starts).
Originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the 6’6”, 238-pound Waller played for both the Ravens (2015-2018) and the Raiders (2018-2022). His peak seasons were 2019-2020, with 197 catches for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, he has missed 18 regular-season games over the past three years due to various injuries, including ankle and knee sprains in 2021 and hamstring issues in 2022 and 2023.
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