The Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers made the biggest news so far this week in the NFL when the former agreed to trade All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith to the latter for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The Dolphins traded a high-level starting cornerback (it doesn’t matter if the Steelers decide to use him at safety, it’s still a loss at a position that can’t afford it) and one of their most productive weapons on offense. Those holes will need to be filled.
And, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, they are already addressing one of those needs.
“Surprise! The #Dolphins are finalizing a trade with the #Giants for former Pro Bowl TE Darren Waller, who is coming out of retirement to play in Miami, per sources.
“A fascinating twist for Waller, who retired last summer, and a new weapon for a team that just traded Jonnu Smith,” Pelissero posted on X.
Waller was once one of the best tight ends in the entire league, but – like so many do – struggled with the New York Giants last season with 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown. Those aren’t deplorable statistics, but the Giants only have one other pass receiver worth paying attention to and that’s Malik Nabers. There should have been more opportunities.
What is the Dolphins landscape now at tight end?
The Dolphins will be praying that Waller can return to some facsimile of his previous form. In 2020, Waller caught a whopping 107 balls for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns for the Las Vegas Raiders. The year before in 2019 he hauled in 90 catches for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns.
But since then, he’s been on a pretty steady decline. He’s been breaking down and just isn’t the same as he used to be. At this point, it’s tough to hand him the starting job even though there aren’t any other big names waiting in the wings.
Waller will join Pharaoh Brown, Tanner Conner, Jalin Conyers, Julian Hill and Hayden Rucci in the Dolphins’ tight end room. If he shows any inkling of his previous success, he’ll be a hit in Miami. He doesn’t have to be a primary – or even secondary – option in Miami with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the roster.
Waller will have relatively big shoes to fill
While the Dolphins don’t need Waller to be Travis Kelce, he will be asked to replace Smith, who had a very good 2024 season for the Phins.
Andy Backstrom of Yahoo! Sports gives a great overview of Smith’s success in Miami.
“Smith was highly productive during his lone season in Miami, earning his first Pro Bowl nod,” Backstrom writes. “The 2017 third-round pick — who previously played for the Tennessee Titans (2017-20), New England Patriots (2021-22) and Atlanta Falcons (2023) — caught 88 passes for 884 receiving yards, both the most by a tight end in Dolphins single-season history, plus notched a team-best eight receiving touchdowns.
“Only Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders, Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers ranked ahead of Smith in tight end receiving yards last season.”
That’s pretty good company for Smith. And, Waller doesn’t have to be a superstar, he just needs to be reliable when called upon.
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