Darren Waller will be paced in practice, prepping him for Dolphins debut
The waiting game for Darren Waller’s NFL return continues, but it appears the recently retired tight end is inching closer to making his NFL debut.
Waller had an extensive practice Tuesday, working with the first-team offense as Miami’s move tight end for the first time in four weeks despite a hip injury that flared up during the first week of practice for the regular season.
Waller, who retired before training camp with the New York Giants last season because he was battling depression and supposedly lost his love for football, is expected to make his debut against the New York Jets in Monday night’s nationally televised game.
“It’s been a process. It’s been a lot longer than I would like,” said Waller, who caught 52 passes in 2023 and turned them into 552 yards and one touchdown. “I have to deal with the reality of the situation like this rather than what I wish it could be....I’m really looking forward to playing in a football game on Monday.
“Over these past couple of days, this week. I’m feeling very good.”
According to head coach Mike McDaniel, Waller will be scaled back this week, which means his participation will be limited leading up to Monday night’s battle of 0-3 teams. But expect him to receive extensive work during Miami’s red zone, and third down periods, which will likely occur Friday and Saturday.
“We’ll go back and forth between moderation and full participation,” McDaniel said. “The situations we’re planning for him, we have a very well planned high-low process so he will do less than he did the other day. But that level is [thoroughly thought out] trying to get him involved in plays he’s participating in.”
Julian Hill, who has made 18 career starts, will likely remain Miami’s first-team in-line tight end, playing the majority of snaps. But Waller’s expected to play ahead of Tanner Connor if healthy.
Of the three games the Dolphins have played without Waller, the tight ends have contributed four receptions for 37 yards. That’s a far drop-off from the production they got last season from Jonnu Smith, who set franchise records for tight ends in every statistical category in 2024.
Waller was signed in the offseason to replace Smith, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a package that sent Smith and cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Steelers for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a pick swap of last-round selections in 2026.
Conner has caught three passes for 33 yards, and Hill has caught one pass for 4 yards, and he also caught a pass that produced a two-point conversion in Miami’s season-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Waller, 33, missed all of training camp because the Dolphins wanted to ease him back into football work since he was fresh out of retirement, and during the first week he was taken off the Physically Unable to Perform list a hip issue supposedly flared up.
He’s spent the past three weeks rehabbing with trainers.
“You can’t walk out on an NFL field and expect things to beat easy, or expect things to be how they once were,” Waller said. “You’ve got to earn it all the times, and I’m fully aware of that.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM.
