This is supposed to be the quiet time of the NFL offseason, with every team on break until training camp, but the Miami Dolphins are doing their best to keep everyone entertained. On Monday, the Dolphins traded Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Minkah Fitzpatrick and a late-round pick. While the full trade was announced in a dramatic fashion, NFL fans knew both players would likely be moved.
On Tuesday, though, the Dolphins took things to another level, trading with the New York Giants for retried tight end Darren Waller. The move was completely unexpected, catching everyone off guard, and now the New England Patriots and the rest of the NFL world are laughing at Miami for this desperate move to replace Jonnu Smith.
Dolphins become laughingstock of NFL after trading for Darren Waller
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, who broke the news of the trade, Waller recently informed the Giants he wanted to resume his career, but only if he could do so in Miami. The veteran tight end retried from the NFL last offseason, explaining that it was time to move on to a new chapter in his life. Waller seemed pretty set on his decision to move on, and that’s why this news was a shock to everyone.
Just recently, he was on a podcast explaining how an experience in Week 6 of the 2023 season is when he first knew he was going to retire. Playing on the road with the Giants against the Buffalo Bills, Waller talked about being the lead blocker on a run play that New York ran three times in one series, and how that led to him going to the sideline and questioning why he was still doing this.
Despite that admission, the Dolphins decided to bring Waller out of retirement and trade for him. Miami now has everyone wondering what it will do next. Will the team call up Eli Manning to be Tua Tagovailoa’s back up? Are the Dolphins currently on the phone with Richard Sherman, asking him to replace Jalen Ramsey? There’s no telling what the Dolphins have up their sleeve.