According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the New York Giants have bought former Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday in exchange for a draft pick.
Darren Waller, age – 30 years old, hauled in 28 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns in the 2022 season. The Giants gave up a third-round draft pick to have Waller.
New York sees the purchase as a long-term solution, as Waller is under contract through the 2026 NFL season after signing a $51 million extension in 2022.
However, Josh Jacobs is not happy about the acquisition. and tweeted “sad fr” shortly after the trade was announced.
In another news, Darren Waller’s wife, Kelsey Plum, twitted that her husband was traded because they didn’t invite Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels to their wedding.
Waller had married Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum in early March.
Darren Waller was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was unable to prove himself to the team and was suspended multiple times under the league’s substance abuse policy. Waller missed the entire 2017 season due to drug and alcohol addiction. During that period, he went to rehab and got sober.
He then returned to the NFL in 2018 with the Raiders, emerging as a playmaking threat the following year; catching 90 passes for 1,145 yards and 3 scores. He was even better in 2020, catching 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. That performance earned Waller his first Pro Bowl selection.
However, Darren Waller had many injuries in the past two years. He played 11 games in 2021 and nine games in 2022. When healthy, Waller has performed like a top-of-the-line receiving tight end.