Omar Kelly: Darren Waller found the joy he lost in season away from football

Omar Kelly, Miami Herald on Jul 22, 2025

Published in Football

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MIAMI — Sobriety is a journey, not a destination. It requires ongoing effort and commitment, and it doesn’t just center on not drinking or not using drugs.

It’s about making a conscious and sustained effort to live a life free from substance use, and addressing the emotional and psychological factors that lead to addiction and destructive behavior.

Protecting his sobriety is why tight end Darren Waller, a recovering drug addict and alcoholic — who has faced multiple suspensions throughout his eight-year NFL career — abruptly retired from the game last season.

Waller, 32, walked away from a $50 million contract with the New York Giants because he found himself resorting to his old vices.

“I’m making sure what I’m living, and what I’m walking, I’m practicing. There are times when I’ve weaved away from that a little bit,” Waller said Tuesday at his introductory press conference with the Dolphins.

Miami last month traded for the 2020 Pro Bowler a day after sending tight end Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh along with cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The Dolphins got back safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the teams swapped late-round 2027 draft picks.

“This last year, that’s something I was able to lock in on,” Waller said, referring to his year away from football. “I feel like I’m coming into this environment to be effective, and stay grounded.”

Waller claimed that the New York environment wasn’t healthy for him. He also went through a divorce from WNBA superstar Kelsey Plum in 2024 and needed to refocus himself, doing things he was passionate about.

At that time, football wasn’t on that list.

The year away from the game, which he spent working out, making music, spending time with family and friends, traveling and going to therapy, allowed him to remember things within the game that can “bring him joy.”

“It all works together,” Waller said about his sobriety walk, which he’s made public for years. “For me to be as effective a football player as I can be I need to be sober in all ways. Sober emotionally. I need to continue to do what brought me here. Continue to put my recovery first.”

According to Waller, he didn’t sign an incentive-laden, one-year deal — worth a base of $2 million — because of what the NFL provided.

He came to the Dolphins with a “full cup,” and unretired because of what he can bring the Dolphins, the only team he wanted to play for because of his relationship with offensive coordinator Frank Smith, the fan base, and people seeking inspiration.

He also valued Mike McDaniel’s reputation as an innovative coach, and the fact that McDaniel also is a recovering alcoholic.

Training for the Hyrox Challenge, a version of Crossfit, kept him in shape. However, Waller knows it will take him a minute to get back into football shape, which is why he’ll be on a unique practice program with Miami.

According to fullback Alec Ingold, who was Waller’s teammate with the Las Vegas Raiders, it will be worth the wait.

“I don’t know if anybody is really ready for what he can do on the field,” said Ingold, who calls Waller “one of one,” referring to his uniqueness as a person.

“A lot of tight ends impact the game in a number of different ways. That’s one dude where I’ve been in game plan meetings with him and it’s, ‘Get the ball to him 15-20 times a game, and he’s going to take it over,’ and he does. I think that’s a rare quality.

“He’s going to have his own challenges coming back,” Ingold continued. “He’s a great human being, and he can take over games when he’s humming, when he’s motivated.”

More so than what Waller has left, the biggest question about his return centers on how long he stays motivated, and whether his stint in Miami, and playing time with the Dolphins, will assist or hinder his sobriety.

But like they say in recovery programs, Waller’s return to the NFL should be taken one day at a time. Waller claims he’s ready for whatever comes of it.

“These chances aren’t something you can just pick off a tree, or anybody gets them any given day walking off the street,” said Waller, who has caught 352 passes and turned them into 4,124 and 20 touchdowns in his career.

“You might as well take advantage of them and put a smile on my face.”