NY Giants set to free up a big chunk of cap space with Darren Waller retiring

While he hasn't officially released a statement, the expectation is that NY Giants TE Darren Wallerwon't play in 2024. According to Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan, the Big Blue front office indeed expects him to retire, with Waller set to announce his decision before the team's mandatory minicamp.

Waller being one and done in East Rutherford is a disappointment, but Joe Schoen can't lose any sleep over this. Instead, perhaps he's excited about what else can be done in free agency? With Waller likely retiring, Schoen is now going to have an extra $11.6 million to work with for 2024. This obviously is nothing to sneeze at:

New York Giants TE Darren Waller is expected to retire

That's a decent amount of change for Schoen to work with. Could he end up going after a veteran tight end? Perhaps a safety or cornerback? Who knows, maybe some help for the defensive line could be an option for him too.

What we do know, though, is that things just didn't work out for Waller with the G-Men. New York traded Las Vegas a third-rounder for him last offseason with the hopes that No. 12 would turn into a stud pass-catcher for Daniel Jones.

Instead, Jones only appeared in six games and Waller missed a large portion of the season due to a hamstring injury. Hamstring issues have been a problem for Waller in recent seasons. There was a bit of a risk for the Giants in trading for him, but at the time, it felt quite worth it because of his potential.

In the end, Waller posted 52 receptions for 552 yards and one touchdown in his first and only season with NY. He didn't quite live up to the hype and after he released his music video recently, it felt like all but a lock that he wasn't going to be on the field once Week 1 rolls around. Now, it will be on Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson to step up at tight end for Brian Daboll and Co.