It is still hard to believe that former New York Giants tight end Darren Waller is headed to Miami, let alone came out of retirement.
Despite admitting last month he knew he wanted to call it a career after the Giants’ Week 6 matchup against the Buffalo Bills in 2023, the veteran— in a stunning move—opted to come out of retirement and was traded to the Dolphins, along with a seventh-round draft pick, in exchange for Miami’s 2026 sixth-round pick. While it may still be hard to wrap your head around the trade, especially since Waller didn’t play at all last year, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, opened up about how the deal unfolded.
How Darren Waller took his talents to South Beach
In an interview with Miami-based sportscaster Josh Moser, Rosenhaus talked about a shocking phone call he got out of the blue from Waller about his desire to play football again... but only with the Dolphins. After that phone call with his client, Rosenhaus would end up calling Giants' general manager Joe Schoen and would get that trade done:
"To Joe Schoen's credit and Chris Grier's credit, those two got together, and quickly worked out a deal—compensation-wise—and for the Dolphins, this was terrific timing," Rosenhaus explained.
Drew Rosenhaus says that he got a phone call from his client, Darren Waller, saying that he wanted to come out of retirement & play for the Dolphins. He then called up Giants GM Joe Schoen to orchestrate a deal. @DrewJRosenhaus adding that he did a similar deal for Rob Gronkowski… pic.twitter.com/SlMYqKhoT1
— Josh Moser (@TheMozKnowz) July 7, 2025
Rosenhaus is also recalling how this trade was very similar to another trade that happened with another Florida-based team.
After then-New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski retired following the 2018 season and sat out all of 2019, the future Hall of Famer made a shocking return during the 2020 offseason. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a compensatory fourth-round pick to reunite with his friend and longtime teammate, Tom Brady, who had signed with the Bucs earlier that offseason. They, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
Now, will history repeat itself with the Dolphins? While Waller is certainly not on the same level as Gronkowski was during his Hall of Fame career, perhaps a change of scenery is what Waller needs. In his lone season with the Giants, he didn’t have primary starter Daniel Jones throwing him the football—backups Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito took the bulk of the reps.
Also, with a potentially healthy Tua Tagovailoa on the field for the Dolphins all season, the 33-year-old former Pro Bowler could certainly prove he has more left in the tank. And that could turn into yet another bad look for the Giants. Only time will tell.