On Monday, the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers sent shockwaves around the NFL with their blockbuster trade that involved three Pro Bowlers. It was a particularly noteworthy deal for the New York Jets, considering Miami is in their division while Pittsburgh is their Week 1 opponent.
Miami received safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, reuniting with their former first-round pick. In exchange for one star player in Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins had to part with two star players: cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith.
While Miami filled a gaping hole at safety, the trade left them with similarly massive holes at cornerback and tight end. On Tuesday, Miami filled the tight end spot with an unexpected pickup.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, former Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller is coming out of retirement to sign with the Dolphins.
Since Waller’s rights still belonged to the New York Giants, Miami had to send a 2026 sixth-round pick to New York for Waller’s services. The Giants also sent a 2027 seventh-round pick with Waller.
Waller, who will turn 33 in September, has not played in the NFL since spending the 2023 season with the Giants. He is now set to touch down in Miami as the clear-cut TE1 in a room that includes Pharaoh Brown, Julian Hill, Tanner Conner, Jalin Conyers, and Hayden Rucci.
Waller has large shoes to fill after the season that Jonnu Smith put together in 2024. Smith ranked fourth among tight ends in receptions (88) and receiving yards (884) while tying for second in receiving touchdowns (8). Catching more passes than both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, Smith earned his first Pro Bowl appearance.
While Waller also has a Pro Bowl to his name, it came way back in 2020, when he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns for the Raiders. After that, Waller’s career entered a downswing, mainly due to injuries. Over the following three seasons, Waller failed to eclipse 665 yards or three touchdowns in a single season, while missing a total of 19 games over that span.
In 2023 with the Giants, Waller played in 12 games, catching 52 passes for 552 yards and one touchdown.
Waller has played four career games against the Jets, posting a 1-3 record. The lone win came in 2020, when the Raiders rallied from behind to drop a hopeless Jets team to 0-12. In that game, Waller caught 13 passes for two touchdowns and a still-standing career-high of 200 yards, 50 more than any other game in his career.
In his other three games against the Jets, however, Waller posted a combined total of just four receptions for 45 yards, losing all three.
On paper, the Dolphins have downgraded at tight end by going from Smith to an out-of-retirement Waller. That could help the Jets keep Miami’s offense in check, which is something they have struggled to do in recent years with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa under center. Tagovailoa is 5-0 as a starter against the Jets, leading Miami to 30.2 points per game in those contests.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel must have faith in his confidence to work magic with another veteran tight end, just as he did with Smith last year. Before coming to Miami, Smith’s career highs (across seven seasons) were 50 receptions and 582 yards. He blew past those numbers in McDaniel’s system. Perhaps McDaniel believes that Waller, with a year off to heal his body, can be similarly effective in the Dolphins’ quick-hitting scheme.
The Jets did a solid job against tight ends in 2024, ranking 10th-best in the NFL with 43.4 yards per game allowed to tight ends. Aaron Glenn’s Detroit Lions were even better, placing third-best with 39.1 yards per game allowed.
With talented coverage players at linebacker and safety, including Jamien Sherwood, Quincy Williams, and Andre Cisco, Glenn hopes to take the Jets’ tight end coverage to a new level in 2025. Shutting down the experienced Waller will have to be a part of that.