Dolphins Activate Top Tight End from PUP

This was a mostly expected move after coach Mike McDaniel said he thought Waller would return sooner rather than later earlier this week. 

“I’m expecting to see him sooner than later,” McDaniel told reporters on Monday. “In the back of my mind, it would be this week, but I’m not going to just put him out there this week because I said it before. I’m hopeful, but it’s very soon. We’re just making sure all of our ducks are in a row before we take that listing off him.” 

The Dolphins wanted Waller’s first practice not to be a joint practice, and the team has one on Thursday against the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of their preseason game on Saturday. 

The Dolphins acquired Waller in July in a trade with the New York Giants, which came as a shock since Waller had retired at the end of the 2023 season. He didn’t play at all in 2024, which is why he spent so much time on the PUP list this offseason. 

Waller also has a pretty extensive injury history at the NFL level, so it makes sense that Miami was cautious with him. It’ll likely still take a bit for him to be ready to contribute to the offense, but his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is confident Waller will be in good shape for Week 1. 

"With all due respect to the other tight ends on the roster, Darren will be ready to rock," Rosenhaus said. "He'll do his part. I'm sure he'll get enough time in leading up to the season where he'll be able to contribute in the season opener. He's been working incredibly hard. While he hasn't been practicing, he is running off to the side. He's running routes. He's pretty much full speed now. I think he's going to be more than ready for the first game."

Getting Waller back before joint practices and the team’s last preseason game is significant. 

One or two weeks of practice is a drop in the bucket for a player who has been away from football as long as Waller has — he’ll need more than that to be a consistent factor on offense. 

That’s not a knock on Waller or his talent. It’s just how these things work. It takes time for players to learn and get comfortable playing in a new system. Waller needs to do all of that and get used to being on the field again in general.

It remains to be seen how much Waller will be involved against the Jaguars on Thursday and Saturday, but getting him any on-field reps is incredibly valuable.