The career of former Las Vegas Raiders and current New York Giants tight end Darren Waller may be coming to an end, according to multiple reports.
Per ESPN's Jordan Raanan, Waller, who has kept the Giants in limbo all offseason after revealing he was thinking about retirement, has not made an official decision yet, but the team and those close to him expect him to hang up his cleats.
Raanan adds that Waller is likely to make a decision by next week, when the Giants are set to begin mandatory minicamp on June 11.
New York Giants tight end Darren Waller is likely to make a decision by next week's mandatory minicamp about his playing future, and people in and around the team expect that he's going to retire, multiple sources told ESPN. Those close to him believe he's leaning in that direction.
Waller, 31, said during an Instagram Live on Friday that was a decision was coming very soon. He has been contemplating retirement since the end of last season and hasn't attended any of the team's voluntary offseason workouts this spring.
Waller spent five seasons with the Raiders, where he resurrected his career and was one of the best tight ends in the league for a few years after overcoming drug addiction issues earlier in his career.
After two straight seasons with injury issues, the Raiders traded Waller to the Giants in 2023, where he also struggled with injury en route to finishing with 52 catches for 552 yards.
Waller is currently going through a divorce with WNBA guard Kelsey Plum, and that appeared to be the subject of an awkward music video he dropped recently. Waller received no shortage of negative reviews for his song.
If this is it for Waller, there will always be plenty of "what ifs" when looking back at his career, but there's no doubt his overall story is an encouraging one for those who struggle with off-the-field issues like he did.
