Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller had plenty of issues before he was traded to the New York Giants in 2023.
The Georgia Tech product was coming off injury-riddled seasons in 2021 and 2022 for the Las Vegas Raiders and was on the wrong side of 30.
Needing a quality pass-catcher after their impressive playoff run in 2022, the Giants ignored those concerns and traded for Waller anyway.
What happened next could only be described as a football disaster.
Waller missed five games in his lone season in New York, though he did manage to catch a respectable 52 passes for over 500 yards and a single touchdown. Those numbers aren't bad, but they are not what the organization had in mind when they gave up a third-round pick for his services.
Making matters worse, the Giants won just six games in 2023.
Following the struggles in the 2023 campaign, Waller chose to retire.
And yet ...
A year after that decision, the 32-year-old filed for reinstatement in the league - "unretirement,'' basically - and now on Tuesday has officially been traded to the Miami Dolphins.
But what caused such a rift between Waller and the Giants in the first place?
According to former Super Bowl champion Plaxico Burress, there were several factors.
Burress made it clear that Waller's retirement had more to do with the blame earned by the Giants than anything else during an appearance on theUp on Game podcast.
"I think it had more to do with a lot of things that he had going on outside of football, and I don't really think he wanted to be here in New York playing for Brian Daboll. I really, honestly believe that," Burress said. "It wasn't a good situation. Daniel Jones is at quarterback; they weren't using him as a tight end, which is what they brought him here for."
Time will tell if Waller can positively impact the Dolphins in 2025 ... as this rather odd tale continues to unfold.