Giants WR Darius Slayton Had A Hunch Darren Waller Was Learning Toward Retiring

Slayton told Keyshawn Johnson on the former NFL receiver's podcast that he had a feeling TE Darren Waller wouldn't be back for a second season with the Giants.

Dec 31, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (86) celebrates with tight end Darren Waller (12) after his touchdown reception during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton had a hunch last season that now-retired tight end Darren Waller was likely on his way out after the 2023 campaign wrapped.

Slayton, speaking to former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson on the All Facts No Brakes podcast, shared the details into what tipped him off into Waller’s thought process when he was asked if he was surprised Waller retired. .

“I used to always tease him and be like, ‘I need one more year. I need one more year,’” Slayton revealed. “He used to be like, ‘Man, Slay, I don’t got it in me. I don’t know. I don’t know.’ So I kind of figured he was probably on the way out.”

Waller, whom the Giants acquired for a third-round pick from the Las Vegas Raiders before the 2023 season, initially looked like a steal throughout the spring when no defender could keep up with him. That the now 31-year-old former tight end also managed to stay healthy following a two-year stretch with the Raiders in which he only appeared in 20 games was also encouraging.

But then the bottom fell out for Waller. Early in the season, when speaking about his hamstring issue with the Raiders, he mentioned that he thought a nerve was the catalyst rather than something within the muscles. 

He eventually developed another hamstring issue, which landed him on injured reserve following the Giants' Week 8 overtime loss to the New York Jets. This development sidelined the Giants' reception and receiving yardage leader at the time.

Waller missed five games last season. When the year ended, he had appeared in 12 games with 11 starts, catching 52 of 74 pass targets for 552 yards and one touchdown in a disappointing campaign.

Word of Waller's contemplation of retirement began to seep out in early February, but the tight end didn’t make a final decision until last month, the Giants giving him the time and space he needed to decide what was best for him.

Waller, whose off-season also included a divorce with WNBA star Kelsey Plum, his wife of one year, and a scary medical episode he suffered just after he landed on injured reserve, shared his thought process in a video on his YouTube channel in which he said it was time to stop trying to please others and start focusing on himself.

Waller, who stayed away from the team’s off-season program, has been trying to get his music career off the ground since retiring. The Giants, meanwhile, prepared for the inevitable by signing free agent veterans Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz, and drafting Theo Johnson in the fourth round out of Penn State.

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