New York Giants tight end Darren Waller announced his retirement from playing football on Sunday, saying he “used to find great joy” in the game but that “that passion is slowly fading away.”
In a nearly 18-minute video posted to his YouTube channel, Waller, 31, confirmed he is stepping away from the game after contemplating his future over the past several months.
The Giants were awaiting Waller’s decision on whether he wants to play this season. He did not attend the team’s offseason workouts and mandatory minicamp begins Tuesday.
Waller detailed a “very scary” medical situation he experienced last November while dealing with a sports injury he suffered days earlier. He said he was driving home to New Jersey after shooting a music video when he began to feel sick and later “started shaking pretty violently” and having trouble breathing. He said he called 911 and was hospitalized for 3 1/2 days.
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“I go back to my daily life and I’m clearly aware that I almost lost my life and I don’t know if I would have really felt that good about my life if I had died at that time,” Waller said. “I’m doing something that brings me a lot of joy and that I’ve had wonderful moments with, but the passion is slowly fading away.”
He said the experience “made me reevaluate, and I decided I would retire from the NFL.”
Waller, who has struggled with hamstring issues the past three years, was limited to 12 games and had 52 catches for 552 yards and a touchdown in his only season with the Giants. He was scheduled to earn $10.5 million in 2024 and will have a $14.1 million payout against the salary cap. With his retirement, the Giants save $11.6 million in cap money and lose $2.5 million in dead money.
Waller, drafted in the sixth round by the Ravens in 2015, overcame early drug problems to establish himself as one of the NFL’s top tight ends. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy and was suspended again for the 2017 season for a second violation of the policy.
Waller has also spoken openly about her struggle with addiction, as well as dealing with depression and anxiety.
“I will forever be grateful to the game of football,” he said. “If I didn’t have the opportunity to save my life and go to rehab, I wouldn’t be able to have this conversation or think about things or reflect on what the NFL gave me. They gave me the opportunity to get back into the world and do something productive, set an example, be a leader, be a difference maker in my job, but also reinvent myself day to day wherever I go.”
“So friend, I will be forever grateful.”
Waller finished his career with 350 receptions, 4,124 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns in 86 games. He played with the Ravens and Raiders before spending his final season with the Giants, who acquired him in an offseason trade.
“We have tremendous respect for Darren as a person and a player,” the Giants said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best.”
The Ravens waived Waller before the 2018 season and he was signed to the Raiders’ practice squad. He appeared in four games and had six catches.
His breakout seasons came in 2019 and 2020, when he had a combined 197 catches for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the 2020 season and was an alternate last year as well but couldn’t due to a thumb injury.
Waller and Giants coach Brian Daboll exchanged text messages in the offseason, but the coach said last Thursday that the team was still waiting on him to make a decision about his playing future.
There were high expectations for Waller last season, but he failed to perform for a team that went 6-11 and missed the playoffs, while a year ago Daboll led them to their first postseason berth since 2016.
Waller married WNBA star guard Kelsey Plum in March 2023, but she filed for divorce in April.
New York recently selected Penn State tight end Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the draft to give the team a win in case Waller doesn’t return. Daniel Bellinger and Lawrence Cager return from last season. New York also signed veteran Chris Manhertz in free agency.
