Darren Waller retires: Former Pro Bowl TE hangs up cleats after lone season with Giants, eight-year NFL career

After months of contemplating retirement, Darren Waller has finally made a decision. Days ahead of the start of the New York Giants’ mandatory minicamp, the former Pro Bowl tight end has informed the team he is officially hanging up the cleats, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

“The passion (for football) has slowly been fading,” Waller admitted in a video statement he released Sunday, explaining that a medical episode during the 2023 season “forced me to reevaluate” his priorities on and off the field.

“(It’s) a whole lot of money (to leave behind),” Waller said of his decision to retire. “But I feel like I’ve spent most of my life doing what I ‘should’ be doing … I’ve been a people pleaser my whole life. … This is an opportunity for me to kind of take back the power in my life, start to make choices for myself and take control. … I’m not disappearing off the face of the Earth. I’m shifting. I’m turning. I’m gonna be going wherever God is taking me next. But this journey will always be something that I hold dear.”

The Giants released the following statement regarding Waller’s decision: “We have great respect for Darren as a person and player. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Waller, 31, had not attended the Giants’ voluntary offseason programming up to this point, admitting to reporters he was undecided about his NFL future just one year after his Big Blue tenure began.

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/darren-waller-retires-former-pro-bowl-te-hangs-up-cleats-after-lone-season-with-giants-eight-year-nfl-career/

Author : Cody Benjamin

Publish date : 2024-06-09 21:51:30

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