Former Raiders Star Darren Waller Gets Huge Dolphins Injury Update from Agent

Former Las Vegas Raiders star Darren Waller retired from the NFL last year, but now finds himself on the Miami Dolphins after a shocking return. While he’s dealt with some problems off the field, when he was on the field for the Raiders during parts of his career, he was among the top tight ends in the NFL. 

During the 2020 season, he was arguably the best in the NFL, posting 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Unfortunately, he dealt with some injuries after that and only had 28 receptions in 2022.

Waller is also dealing with an injury right now, currently on the PUP list. It remains uncertain why he’s on the PUP list, as it hasn’t been announced, but according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, his client will be on the field for Week 1.

“Drew Rosenhaus says his client Darren Waller will be ready for Week 1. The TE is on the PUP list working back into ‘football shape’ after taking a year off,” Josh Moser wrote.

How Does Waller Look After a Year off of Football?

Some in the Miami Dolphins building have been impressed with the former Las Vegas Raiders star, including Jon Embree, their tight end coach. Similar to what many believed during his time with the Raiders, he’s an elite player who can grasp an offense quickly. 

With all of the motion the Dolphins run offensively, they don’t have an easy offensive system to figure out, but it sounds like he’s doing just that.

“The first thing that really impressed me about him is his ability to quickly grasp the offense,” Embree said Monday, per SI’s Jake Mendel. “He has a pretty good grasp of the details initially starting out. That’s huge because that’ll allow us to do more with him and move him around in the formations and all that.

“And then just his range, his catch radius. Probably not since Tony [Gonzalez] or Jordan Cameron had a guy that has that kind of radius as far as catching the ball.”

The Best Quarterback Waller Has Played With

Waller has also been impressed with what Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins has done, something he might not have said with the Las Vegas Raiders. 

During his time with the Raiders, he dealt with some below-average quarterbacks, with Derek Carr under center for much of it, but he could have a different opportunity with Tagovailoa. 

Tagovailoa has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career, but has often been very good when he’s on the field. According to former Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead, Waller has been very impressed with him so far, noting that he’s throwing a different type of ball than he’s ever seen.

“We were on the sideline talking during practice on Saturday, and he talked about quarterback play, and he was saying how Derek Carr has been the best quarterback, the best passer that he’s played with. And he said, Tua’s different,” Armstead said. 

“This is something different that Tua’s doing, like seeing Tua throw with anticipation, seeing the way he’s seeing the defense, and where he’s placing the ball, what looks to be a very catchable ball. This is Darren Waller’s words, these are not mine.”