Darren Waller shocked the NFL world when he unretired and signed with the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday. The 32-year-old tight end walked away from football just one year ago, saying he’d lost his passion for the game.
Now he’s back, filling a major hole for Miami after the team traded Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh. However, not everyone believes Waller’s heart is truly in it.
One prominent NFL analyst is already questioning whether the Dolphins made a smart move by bringing in a player who quit on the sport so recently.
NFL Analyst Calls Out Darren Waller’s Commitment After Surprise Signing
The Dolphins pulled off a low-risk trade to get Waller from the New York Giants. Miami sent a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick to New York in exchange for Waller and a 2027 seventh-round pick. The deal gives Miami flexibility since they’re not committing much if things don’t work out.
When Waller retired in June 2024, he pointed to several reasons for leaving. The former Pro Bowler said injuries were piling up, and he simply didn’t love football anymore. He wanted to explore other interests and find new meaning in life after overcoming personal struggles earlier in his career. His departure seemed final, like a player who had truly moved on from the game.
Yet here he is, back in the NFL after just one year away. Waller agreed to a one-year contract with Miami that could pay him up to $5 million. The timing couldn’t be better for the Dolphins, who desperately needed a tight end after their blockbuster trade with Pittsburgh.
In that deal, Miami sent Smith and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Steelers. The Dolphins received All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in return, strengthening their defense but leaving a gap at tight end.
During an episode of the “Pro Football Talk PM” show, NFL analyst Mike Florio didn’t hold back his criticism of Miami’s decision to sign Waller.
“Normally functioning football operations do not make these kinds of moves in June and July,” he said. “They make them in March and April. If you know you have an issue with Jonnu Smith, trade him before the start of the league year.”
Florio believes the Dolphins should have planned better. He thinks they should have lined up Smith’s replacement before trading him away.
“Have the deal ready to go. As soon as 4 p.m. Eastern rolls around on the first day of the league year, boom, he’s gone. And then you’ve got his replacement lined up. Or, in the worst-case scenario, you draft a guy. You don’t go out scrounging for veteran tight ends in late June because you get a guy who retired a year ago and didn’t play, and for all we know, he doesn’t want to play.”
The analyst shared serious doubts about what Waller can bring to Miami after his year away from football.
“I don’t know that Darren Waller’s head and heart is in the game. I’m not pinning my hopes at the tight end position to Darren Waller after he’s been out of football for a full year,” Florio said.
He compared Waller’s situation unfavorably to other comeback stories in the NFL. “This isn’t Rob Gronkowski deciding to come back and team up with Tom Brady and win a Super Bowl. This is a guy who fell out of love with the sport. He had something else he wanted to do, and now he’s in love with the sport again.”
Florio continued to question Waller’s commitment and criticized the Dolphins for waiting so long to address their tight end need.
“How in love with the sport is he? Will he stay healthy? What’s he going to do after a year off? A lot of factors, a lot of issues. And the point is this. If the Dolphins had done this when a normally functioning football team would do it in March, the alternative to Johnny Smith would not have been Darren Waller,” he said.
Can Darren Waller Resurrect His NFL Career?
Despite the criticism, Waller brings an impressive resume to Miami. During his best years with the Las Vegas Raiders, he put up back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. His peak came in 2020 when he hauled in 107 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns.
Those numbers earned him Pro Bowl honors and set a Raiders franchise record for receptions by a tight end in a single season. That record stood until Brock Bowers broke it with 112 catches in 2024.
The Dolphins are taking a calculated risk on Waller. They’re betting that a year away from football has refreshed him mentally and physically. The team-friendly contract means Miami isn’t overcommitting financially if things don’t work out.
For Waller, this represents a chance to prove doubters wrong and show he can still perform at a high level. Whether his passion for football has truly returned remains to be seen. But in a league where talent often wins out, the Dolphins are willing to take that chance on a player who was once among the best at his position.