Giants trading TE Darren Waller to Miami Dolphins for 2026 sixth-round pick

In a twist that no one saw coming, the Miami Dolphins have gone from parting ways with Jonnu Smith to pulling a retired rabbit out of the hat.

Just hours after shipping Smith off to the Steelers, reports surfaced that Miami was already sniffing around for his replacement. But instead of chasing after an active tight end, the Dolphins made a surprising U-turn, and are now close to landing Darren Waller, who had previously hung up his cleats.

Per reports, Miami is finalizing a trade with the Giants for the former Pro Bowler, sending over a 2026 sixth-round pick and a conditional seventh-rounder in 2027. It's a classic low-risk, high-upside move: the kind that makes you raise an eyebrow and say, "Wait, he's coming back?"

Hot on the heels of shipping out Jonnu Smith to the Steelers in a headline-grabbing deal, the Dolphins have wasted no time finding their next go-to guy at tight end, and it's a name fans didn’t expect to see back on the field: Darren Waller.

Waller, who shocked the league by retiring at age 31 after just one season with the Giants, will now slide into the TE1 role in Miami. Since New York still held his rights despite his retirement, the Dolphins had to cough up a bit of draft capital to get the deal done.

While Waller’s 2023 stint in the Big Apple was relatively quiet, 52 grabs for 552 yards and a lone touchdown over 12 games, his track record with the Raiders speaks volumes. From 2019 to 2020, Waller was a nightmare matchup, reeling in back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons. In 2020, he led all tight ends with 107 receptions, 1,196 yards, and a personal-best nine touchdowns.

If Waller's still got some juice in the tank, this could turn out to be a sneaky-good pickup for a Miami offense that loves to stretch the field.

Credit where it's due — pulling a Day 3 draft pick for a retired tight end is a bit of a masterstroke by Giants GM Joe Schoen. It's not every day you trade a player who stepped away from the game and still get value in return.

Now it's up to Darren Waller, who turns 33 in September, to prove there's still some tread left on the tires. He'll step right into the role vacated by Jonnu Smith, who was dealt to the Steelers earlier this week, and aim to bring some spark to a Dolphins offense that's hoping his past Pro Bowl form can make a comeback in South Beach.