A Pro Bowl tight end is coming back to the NFL for at least one more season.
Darren Waller has signed a deal with the Panthers, his agency, Rosenhaus Sports, announced Wednesday night. ESPN reported the contract is for one year, but terms are not yet known.
Waller, 33, retired after one season with the Giants in 2023 before ultimately returning to the NFL for 2025 when he suited up for the Dolphins following a trade.
In nine games with Miami, Waller recorded 24 catches for 283 yards with six touchdowns, which marked the second-most he would scored in a single season during his nine-year career.
A hip injury cost him the first four weeks of the season, while a pec strain in October landed him on injured reserve and kept him off the field for another four games in the middle of the season. Ahead of the Dolphins’ season finale, Waller was added to IR again with a groin injury.
When Waller was on the field, he did flash some of the talent that made him a Pro Bowl weapon for the Raiders in 2020 when he posted career highs with 107 receptions and 1,196 yards.
Waller was expected to bring that level of play to the Giants when Big Blue traded for him ahead of the 2023 campaign, but he recorded just 552 receiving yards with one touchdown in 12 games.
The tight end spoke last October about his decision to initially retire from football and how he felt he was not put in the best position to succeed in New York.
“There were other things I was going through in my life as well that were making me feel like I needed to step away, which I feel like was a wise decision,” Waller said on “The Schultz Report” podcast. “But at that time … the frustration may not have been directly with that, because I will do some dirty s–t. You’ve got to if you’re a good teammate. But I don’t really feel like I was being put in positions for what made me unique to shine. That’s what the frustration was probably coming from more.
“I was filling through the B gap, hitting linebackers and running stick routes. You ain’t getting the best out of me doing that.”
Waller will now be competing for time with five other tight ends in Carolina. Ja’Tavion Sanders and Tommy Tremble had 29 and 27 receptions, respectively, last season.
