There was a time when Darren Waller was arguably the best tight end in the NFL during the early days of his Las Vegas Raiders tenure. He had a two-year stretch from 2019 to 2020 where he had a combined 197 catches for 2,341 yards.
His size made him impossible for cornerbacks to cover, but he was too fast for linebackers to keep up with. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career quickly. After two injury-plagued years in Las Vegas, the Raiders traded him to the New York Giants. Injury issues continued, and that led to him retiring and taking 2024 off.
Waller decided to make a comeback last year and was traded to the Miami Dolphins. When he did play, he was still an impact player and had six touchdown catches in nine games. However, he got hurt again and was limited to nine games.
Nobody would’ve questioned him if he had decided to retire this offseason, but he’s not quite ready to step away yet. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Waller has signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers don’t have a star tight end on the roster. Tommy Tremble has never had more than 249 yards in a season. Waller could cement himself as the top pass-catching tight end on the roster if he stays healthy.
Why Panthers Signed Waller
Signing Waller at this stage of his career is a risk. He’s 33 now, so his body is only going to be more susceptible to injury.
That said, his contract was likely very cheap. There’s a reason he had to wait this long into free agency to sign. Panthers head coach Dave Canales explained why his team wanted to bring in the former Pro Bowler.
“Just looking for ways to challenge our roster, challenge our rooms,” Canales told reporters. “Bringing different types of talent into the rooms to really challenge the group and see what we have there.”
“We felt like it was a good fit,” he added. “There was a lot of conversations back and forth—about the vision, about the group that he’s coming into. So felt comfortable about that, found an agreement and we’ll bring him in and do the physical and all that stuff.”
Does Waller Have Another Big Season in Him?
Waller likely doesn’t have the same speed he had a few years ago with the Raiders, so he’s not going to beat players that way. That said, he’s still a big body with good hands.
He just needs to be a dependable red zone target for quarterback Bryce Young. It’s still a major question mark if he can play even 10 games in a season at this point.
If he has another injury-riddled year, it’ll likely be his last. For now, this might be his last chance to have a good season. There’s not a lot of competition at tight end, and the Panthers have an offensive-minded head coach who will want to get Waller the ball. At this point, it just comes down to health because he proved last year that he’s still a dangerous playmaker.
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