The Dolphins opened training camp with a flurry of roster moves, including a key designation for veteran tight end Darren Waller as questions loom about his readiness for the season.
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Just days before the start of training camp, the Miami Dolphins shuffled their roster in a handful of key ways – headlined by veteran tight end Darren Waller landing on the active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Waller, now 32 and fresh off a brief retirement, finds himself among three Dolphins players designated for injury-related lists. Offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg also joins him on the active/PUP list, while safety Ifeatu Melifonwu has been placed on the non-football injury list.
That trio of moves comes alongside two more notable changes: Miami has signed versatile offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill and waived quarterback Brett Gabbert. The Brunskill pickup adds another experienced presence to the offensive line room, while Gabbert’s release trims the quarterback depth chart ahead of camp battle evaluations.
Now, let’s focus on the headliner: Waller. His career has been anything but conventional – a sixth-round draft pick by the Ravens back in the day, Waller initially struggled to find consistent footing in the league. But in the years since landing in Oakland (and later Las Vegas), he blossomed into one of the NFL’s most athletic and dangerous tight ends when healthy.
After playing out the early stages of a modest rookie deal, Waller earned his payday: a three-year extension with the Raiders that paid out around $9 million annually. Then, in true ascending superstar fashion, he re-upped with Vegas on a major three-year, $51 million deal – the kind of contract reserved for true difference-makers.
But just when it seemed like he’d become a long-term cornerstone out west, the Raiders pivoted. In 2023, they dealt him to the New York Giants in exchange for a third-round compensatory pick. Waller put together a solid, if not game-breaking, campaign in New York – 52 catches for 552 yards across 12 games, with one touchdown.
Reports of his retirement followed at the end of the 2023 season, as injuries and fatigue seemed to take their toll. But Waller had a change of heart in 2025 and returned to the league, ultimately joining the Dolphins via trade. The move brought intrigue; few tight ends in recent history have possessed Waller’s mix of athleticism, physicality, and route-running ability when healthy.
Now, as Miami gears up for what it hopes will be a contender’s campaign, Waller’s status looms large. Players on the active/PUP list can rejoin their teammates at any point during training camp once cleared medically. But if Waller remains on the list through the start of the regular season, he’s required to miss at least the first four games – not exactly ideal for a team looking to unleash a new dimension in its passing attack.
Until then, the Dolphins will monitor his progress closely. For Miami, a healthy Waller could be a game-changer – a red-zone threat, a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties, and a perfect complement to the speed on the outside. But there’s patience baked into this process, given the mileage on his legs and the unique road he’s traveled to get here.
As training camp begins, the next few weeks will tell us whether Waller – and others on Miami’s injury list – can get back up to speed and help fuel another playoff push in South Beach.