General manager Joe Schoen and the New York Giants acquired a fifth-round pick from the Miami Dolphins, in exchange for a player that they had no plans for in 2025 and beyond.
Tuesday, the Dolphins traded a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Giants, in exchange for tight end Darren Waller and a conditional seventh round pick in the 2027 draft, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Waller, of course, announced his retirement from the NFL prior to the 2024 season kicking off, but plans to come out of retirement to suit up for the Dolphins this season.
Before stepping away from football last June, Waller, 32, was viewed as a pass-catching force at the position, pulling down 350 career receptions for 4,124 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The Giants originally traded a third-round compensatory pick to acquire Waller in 2023, but the Pro Bowl tight end only played one season in New York before announcing his retirement. That season, Waller finished as the Giants’ second-leading receiver, catching 52 passes for 552 yards and a touchdown.
However, hamstring injuries plagued his final season, and he only appeared in nine games which included a stint on injured reserve.
This season, the Giants will lean heavily on emerging second-year tight end Theo Johnson, who caught 29 passes for 331 yards and one touchdown as a rookie, after being chosen in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, out of Penn State.
