Raiders Tight End Darren Waller on Returning to the NFL in 2018

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller recalled his first reception as a member of the Silver and Black.

Darren Waller's dream of making it to the NFL had nearly slipped away in June of 2017.

Waller has battled his way back from drug abuse, an addiction that almost cost him his football career.

The tight end was suspended by the Baltimore Ravens after failing a drug test, which kept him out of the NFL for a year.

Waller had to resort to a job at a grocery store while he went through his rehab process.

“When I took that job, I had no desire to play football,” Waller said on the 'In the Moment with David Greene' podcast. “I was just trying to regain structure in my life.”

Waller returned to the NFL in 2018 when the Las Vegas Raiders (the Oakland Raiders at the time) gave the tight end another chance.

The Pro Bowler said his first reception with the Raiders, a 44-yard gain against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 16, 2018, was a play that was not meant to come his way. 

"[I] broke a tackle on a linebacker and just ran like I was running from a dog, put my head back and just ran," Waller said. "That's all I remember. I remember being tackled at the [1-yard-line], but just to have that moment was just like a, 'I'm meant to be here still.' Like it's not by accident.'"

That moment, along with every one of Waller's moments on the gridiron since, are a blessing for a player who at one time thought it was all out of reach.

“It was an overwhelming, like surreal moment almost," Waller said. "And pretty much all the moments of my career since then have been kinda like: 'I Can't believe this is really happening,' but it is happening. So I'm gonna enjoy it."

Waller had a message for those who have loved ones dealing with addiction.

"I just don't think it's effective to tell people, 'You gotta do this' or 'Why are you doing that?' or 'You shouldn't do this.' You're just going to build the walls up that are already existing around them," Waller said. "That's like the only solution that you can do for somebody is to just love them until they decide for themselves. At the end of the day, they got to get sick of their own mess. ... I just feel like you just love people in the process, let them know that they're still valuable and they still mean something in the process."

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