After spending all of the offseason away from the Giants, Waller is now ready to hang it up. The eight-year vet entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2015. The former Georgia Tech wide receiver battled through substance abuse issues early in his career and missed the 2017 season as a result of being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He returned to the Ravens in 2018 and was traded to the Raiders at the end of that season. In 2019, Waller, who had made the permanent switch to tight end, broke out for 90-1145-3 and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2020 when he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Injuries would plague him over the last three years, as he appeared in just 32 of a possible 51 games and played in just 12 games for the Giants in his lone season with the team. Waller overcame late draft capital, early struggles in his career, and a positional overhaul to carve out a solid career for himself. His retirement for the Giants, who are now expected to go with third-year tight end Daniel Bellinger as their starter. They also selected Penn State’s Theo Johnson with the No. 107 pick in this year’s draft.

The most we’ve seen of Waller this offseason came from a . The Giants haven’t given a deadline for Waller to announce his decision, but according to Raanan, he “is likely to make a decision by next week’s mandatory minicamp about his playing future,” adding that people close to the team believe he’ll opt to walk away. Waller caught 52 passes for 552 yards and one touchdown over 12 games last season and has played in 12 or fewer games in each of his last three seasons. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has dealt with multiple injuries over the years. Third-year tight end Daniel Bellinger would presumably get the first crack at the starting job if Waller does retire. In two seasons, Bellinger has caught 55 passes for 523 yards and two touchdowns and could have some streaming upside on a team short on receiver talent.

Waller will likely remain away as he continues to contemplate his future. Giants GM Joe Schoen said last month that the team is not giving Waller a deadline to make a decision, but as training camp draws closer, we’d expect things to be finalized one way or another. Waller once again dealt injuries that limited him to 12 games last season and averaged just 10.6 YPR, his lowest total since breaking out with the Raiders in 2019. While he’s still the best tight end on the Giants’ roster, nagging injuries have followed him for three straight seasons, and he will turn 32 shortly after the start of the season. Waller’s uncertain future has made him virtually free to draft in early drafts, making him a low-risk, medium-reward player at a position that lacks upside outside of the top players.

It was reported in early March that Waller was considering retirement. A month and a half later, that still appears to be the case, and the Giants are in no hurry to get a decision from the veteran tight end. Schoen said the team is “giving him time and space to make a decision on what he wants to do” and didn’t have much else to say regarding the situation. Waller has battled numerous nagging injuries in recent years and appeared in just 12 games last season due to a hamstring injury. Waller was still serviceable when available, totaling 52-552-1 in those games while totaling 70-plus yards in three of his first eight contests. Waller will turn 32 shortly after the season begins. Clearly, on the back nine of his career, even if he does opt to play in 2024, he’s a long way off from being the player we saw in 2019 and 2020.