The Dolphins received some rare good news yesterday. After exiting Sunday’s loss to the Browns, tight end Darren Waller was diagnosed with a strained pectoral muscle, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The injury is not expected to require surgery, and the veteran is considered “week to week at this point.”

Waller exited Sunday’s contest before halftime and was later ruled questionable to return. Considering how the Dolphins season has gone so far (including a season-ending injury to WR1 Tyreek Hill), fans were surely anticipating the worst. Instead, it sounds like Waller’s absence should only be temporary.

After sitting out the 2024 season, Waller came out of retirement to join the Dolphins (via trade with the Giants) ahead of the 2025 campaign. After making his debut in Week 4, the veteran tight end immediately emerged as one of Tua Tagovailoa‘s preferred red zone targets. Through his first three games with his new squad, Waller hauled in four touchdowns, a number that is still tied third at his position.

Waller got into more than half of his team’s snaps in Week 5 and Week 6, so the Dolphins will have to find a solution to soak up some of those reps. The easiest option is to revert back to their TE grouping from the beginning of the season, when Julian Hill garnered a handful of additional snaps over Tanner Conner.

If Waller is destined for injured reserve, the team will likely turn to one of their practice squad tight ends for additional depth. The current options for that TE3 role are Hayden Rucci and Greg Dulcich.

Darren Waller‘s Dolphins debut (and NFL return) is set to be delayed by at least one week. The unretired tight end encountered a setback this week, head coach Mike McDaniel said (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques).

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As a result, Waller is likely to miss Miami’s season opener against the Colts. A hip strain is the issue in this case, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. Missed time was an issue during the latter stages of Waller’s Raiders tenure as well as his single Giants campaign; things have not gotten off to a good start with the Dolphins.

Waller was moved to the active/PUP list early this summer, but as expected he was activated late in August. That move allowed the former Pro Bowler to return to practice in preparation for his first game action since Week 18 in 2023. At least a short-term issue has now arisen, though, and it will be worth monitoring how long it will keep him sidelined.

The Dolphins included Jonnu Smith in the Jalen Ramsey–Minkah Fitzpatrick trade, dealing him away after a career-best showing in 2024. Questions were raised in the wake of that swap about how Miami would replace Smith at the tight end spot. The team caught many off guard by agreeing to acquire Waller in a trade with the Giants after he made it clear he would only return to the NFL if he could reunite with Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith in the process.

Presuming Waller is sidelined on Sunday, the Dolphins will need to rely on Julian Hill and Jalin Conyers at the tight end spot. Hill entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and Conyers did the same this spring. Experience will be in short supply as a result for however long Waller is unavailable.

When the Dolphins acquired Darren Waller, the veteran tight end’s cap hit stood beyond $10MM. That is no longer the case, as the Dolphins and the unretiring tight end have agreed on a new structure after the unexpected trade.

The Giants had acquired Waller’s Raiders extension in March 2023, only to see the former Pro Bowler retire after one season in New York. He expressed a desire to be traded to Miami, where he will try and resurrect his career. The Dolphins will be careful here, as they designed a contract with no guarantees.

Although Waller’s Raiders deal ran through 2026, OverTheCap indicates his Dolphins pact ends after the 2025 season. Waller will be tied to a one-year, $2MM deal that includes no guarantees. Incentives can take this contract to $3MM, according to Cards Wire’s Howard Balzer. Waller counts $2MM against Miami’s cap.

This could represent a bargain for the Dolphins, based on Waller’s past performance, but the player having an extensive injury history and being out of football in 2024 invited the team to exercise caution when doing this deal. Although the Dolphins held trade talks with the Raiders in 2023, they are getting a different version of Waller by 2025.

Waller’s issues with substance abuse nearly ended his NFL opportunity before it started; the Raiders signing him off the Ravens’ practice squad in November 2018 changed his career path. The Jon Gruden 2.0-era pickup posted back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons (2019-20) and drew Comeback Player of the Year votes in 2019 and a Pro Bowl nod in 2020. Waller signed two Raiders extensions, the second just before the 2022 season after an extended negotiation, but saw the Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler regime trade him for a third-round pick — the choice the Giants obtained in the Kadarius Toney trade — months after the three-year, $51MM extension emerged.

In New York, Waller played just 12 games. For a Giants team that had moved on from Evan Engram in 2022, Waller’s 2023 work (52 receptions, 552 yards, one touchdown) stands out. But he landed on IR due to a hamstring injury, his second in two seasons. Waller did return via IR activation late that season, but he hinted at a potential retirement during the 2024 offseason. The veteran tight end followed through on that weeks after the draft, setting up another unremarkable Giants TE season.

Not many good options were available for the Dolphins, who folded Jonnu Smith into the Jalen Ramsey–Minkah Fitzpatrick swap with the Steelers. Waller, who missed six games in 2021 and eight in 2022, represents a low-risk bet. Miami can move on for no dead money. Waller will turn 33 in September; the upcoming Dolphins training camp will determine if he still has an NFL future.