The New York Giants somehow traded a retired tight end for draft capital this summer (not every day you hear that), and now the team that took the bait (pun intended) is finally feeling it. Darren Waller, who hadn’t practiced once since landing in Miami more than a month ago, was officially activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list this week. But activated doesn’t mean ready, and ready doesn’t mean game-shape.
The #Dolphins have activated TE Darren Waller off the physically unable to perform list and he will practice for the first time since the trade/unretirement. pic.twitter.com/IUq16v8zTC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 20, 2025
Waller’s return comes after weeks of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel saying he was being “eased in,” which, to be clear, is coach speak for we don’t want people seeing what kind of shape he’s in yet. So while he’s technically off the injured list now, the wait to see him actually do something in pads continues.
From Big Blue's perspective? This is all gravy. They turned a player who checked out midseason, retired, and said he didn’t want to play anymore... into a sixth-round pick. And now, with Miami slow-walking him back into the fold, Giants fans can’t help but wonder: did the Dolphins just get fleeced?
Giants fans can only suspect Darren Waller's conditioning is a concern
It’s been six weeks since Miami traded for Waller. That’s six weeks of zero practices, zero joint sessions, and zero snaps. For all the excitement Dolphins fans had about the move, they’ve seen less than nothing. The first glimpse should have been a while ago. Crickets.
Sure, he’s off the PUP. But McDaniel has already said they don’t expect him to practice much ahead of Miami's next preseason game. And that’s a pattern. He wasn’t cleared for camp. He wasn’t cleared for pads. Now, even with the season two weeks away, there’s still hesitation.
Why though?
Waller’s not rehabbing a torn ACL. He didn’t break his collarbone last year. He just stopped playing football, chilled for a while, then unretired to force a trade to the only team willing to gamble. Now that he’s there, the Dolphins don’t want to rush him back... because they know how quickly this can all fall apart.
Let’s be honest: it’s not like he lit the world on fire in New York. His 52-catch campaign in 2023 was solid, but his usage was inconsistent, injuries unfortunately popped back up, and by midseason, he’d already checked out mentally.
By his own admission, there was a moment vs the Bills he knew he didn’t want to play anymore.
Now Miami has to pretend that version of Waller is suddenly going to turn back the clock five years? All while not doing any football-related activity for almost two years? That's bonkers.
Look, maybe this turns around. Maybe he comes out in Week 1 and looks like he never left. But the longer he sits, the more it looks like Miami traded for a guy whose playing days are behind him.
No one's rooting against him, but the more they coddle him, the more it plays right into the narrative that he came into camp in much worse shape conditioning-wise than it was ever let on. Only time will tell. We'll see when the pads come in... if he ever puts them on.