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After nine seasons with three different teams, Darren Waller decided to walk away from the NFL after the 2023 season.
He appeared in 12 games with the New York Giants in what turned out to be the final year of his NFL career. Last June, Waller admitted in a video posted to his YouTube channel his “passion” for football “has slowly been fading.”
“I’ve decided to retire from the game of football,” he wrote on Instagram. “To God: what a journey, and thank you. We took it way farther than I ever could have imagined! So grateful for all the ppl I’ve been able to connect and create memories with along the way. We still got plenty more life left to live. Love you all. Peace.”
Waller was 31 when he decided to call it quits.
As Waller hit the one-year mark of his NFL retirement, the former tight end shared some insight leading up to his surprising decision. Waller said it took a handful of a games into his lone season with the Giants to realize he was ready to retire.
DARREN WALLER REFLECTS ON DIVORCE AND RETIREMENT, SAYS HE HAD TO ‘LOOK IN THE MIRROR’
“I knew I was retiring when we played in Buffalo,” Waller said during a recent appearance on “The Side You Don’t See” podcast. “It was a game where it was really controversial because one of the guys held me at the end, and they didn’t call it.
“It was in the first quarter of the game. We were running this counter lead running play, and I’m kind of like leading through the hole like I’m a fullback, and the play is working. But I sit down on the sideline after like a drive where we ran like three times, and I’m like, what the f— am I doing with my life? I’m out here playing fullback. I don’t even want to do this s— anymore.”
The moment had a lasting impact on Waller, who said he sat on the sidelines staring up at the sky.
“I’m just looking at the moon — it’s early first quarter (or) second quarter — and nobody else would really even know I am thinking this, but I’m on the sideline like, ‘Yep. I’m going to finish this year to the best of my ability, but I am definitely done after this year.'”
The Bills outlasted the Giants in the game, celebrating a 14-9 victory.
Waller finished his brief stint with the Giants with 552 receiving yards and one touchdown. He had a turbulent season that included a brief hospitalization. He sustained a hamstring injury in Week 8, which caused him to miss several games.
Away from the field, 2024 also marked the end of Waller’s marriage to WNBA star Kelsey Plum. The two filed for divorce in Las Vegas in April 2024.
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