When Will Dolphins Get Top Tight End Back?

Is this finally the week Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller comes off the Physically Unable to Perform list?

Well, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke on that during a press conference on Monday, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer yet. 

“I’m expecting to see him sooner than later,” McDaniel told reporters. “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.” 

McDaniel mentioning Waller possibly taking the field this week is a good sign, but he doesn’t sound firm in that prediction. In the past, McDaniel has said that he didn’t want Waller’s first practice to be a joint practice. 

That was supposedly why he didn’t participate in the team’s practices against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. 

If Waller does make his return this week, it likely would be either Tuesday or Wednesday. The team has a joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday before its final preseason game on Saturday. 

If Waller doesn’t return by Wednesday, it means he’ll have missed every preseason game and joint practice. 

The Dolphins making sure Waller’s first practice isn’t a joint practice makes sense since he is working his way back from retirement. That said, Waller is expected to be the team’s primary pass catcher at tight end, and he hasn’t worked with the offense at all since the Dolphins acquired him in a trade with the New York Giants. 

Waller also has a pretty extensive injury history at the NFL level, so it makes sense Miami is being cautious with him. At a certain point, he needs to start ramping up for the season. If not, he’ll still be getting ready as the season begins, much in the way Odell Beckham Jr. was last year. 

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. 

The tight end’s familiarity with Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith from their time with the Raiders is a good thing, but those offenses could not be more different. 

How Much Does Miami Need Waller? 

This is a complicated question to answer. 

On paper, he’s the only tight end on the team with proven pass-catching ability at the NFL level. Even in his inconsistent 2023 season with the Giants, he put up 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown. 

Julian Hill might get the “starting” nod most weeks, but he’s not much of a threat in the passing game. If the Dolphins are going to get production from that position this season, it’ll likely have to come from Waller.