Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) poses for fans after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first half of an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Dec. 17, 2022.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | noon
Related Coverage
The Raiders’ single-season leader in receptions is being traded away from the team.
Las Vegas has agreed to trade tight end Darren Waller, who caught 107 passes in the team’s inaugural season locally in 2020, to the New York Giants in exchange for a third-round pick according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Waller signed a three-year, $51 million extension a day before the season began last year but it didn’t go according to plan as he missed half of it with a hamstring injury. It was the second straight year that ailments sidelined Waller following big seasons in 2019 and 2020 where he caught 197 combined receptions for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Moving on from Waller continues the Raiders’ offensive transformation under second-year general manager Dave Ziegler and second-year coach Josh McDaniels. Las Vegas had already agreed to deals with free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and free-agent wide receiver Jakobi Meyers within the first 24 hours of the NFL’s legal tampering period.
Contracts can become official at 9 a.m. Wednesday when the league’s new year begins.
Waller’s exit could potentially lead to the return of tight end Foster Moreau, who’s a free agent. The Raiders weren’t expected to keep Moreau with so much money tied up in Waller but now they have a hole at tight end with Jesper Horsted the only player at the position currently under contract.
Waller will be missed in the community just as much, if not more, than he will be on the field. An outspoken advocate for those dealing with addiction after overcoming his own struggles early in his NFL career, Waller started a foundation to help.
A Real Sports profile last year showed him traveling into local storm tunnels to help the homeless population. At the time of filming, HBO reported he had paid all expenses for 44 recovering addicts to go through treatment.
Waller also married Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum earlier this month, so he’ll presumably still be seen around the area — just not with the Raiders.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy