Darren Waller marked his surprise NFL return in style on Monday night, scoring two touchdowns on his first appearance for the Miami Dolphins in their first win of the season.
The tight end, 33, quit football in June last year while contracted to the New York Giants, shortly after he and WNBA star Kelsey Plum went through a highly-publicized divorce following a year of marriage.
The winless Dolphins headed into Monday’s game against another struggling opponent, New York Jets, in Miami desperately seeking victory. And in his first NFL game since January 2024, Waller took a four-yard catch from Tua Tagovailoa to give his new team the lead in the second quarter.
Tagovailoa picked him out in the endzone again in the third, with Waller reeling in a nine-yard pass and the Dolphins would eventually win 27-21.
Announcing retirement in June 2024, Waller said he had lost passion for the game and that a medical incident in November 2023, where he was hospitalized with breathing difficulties, had convinced him it was time to call it a day.
But it came at a time of immense personal difficulty due to his divorce, with his ex-wife and basketball great Plum taking a shot at Waller in announcing the split.
Darren Waller scored two touchdowns in his first Miami Dolphins appearance on Monday
Last year, Waller got divorced from WNBA star Kelsey Plum and retired from football
‘I’m devastated. I walked through fire for that man, but I now see it’s time to go,’ she wrote on social media.
‘God has given me an incredible life, and I’m truly so grateful for the profound love from my family and friends. One day I’ll share my story, today is not that day.
‘Thank you for the grace to process my pain, to forgive and move forward.’
For his part, Waller said that the split forced him to question his decision-making and insecurities in relationships during an appearance on Power 105.1’s ‘The Breakfast Club’ in July 2024.
‘You kinda got to look at yourself and realize, alright, what role am I playing that all the relationships in my life have always had the same patterns,’ Waller said.
‘It kind of plays into everything else I was mentioning earlier, the co-dependency aspect like, any time I’m in a relationship, I feel like I gotta dance or do a certain thing to keep this person around, almost tying my self-worth to the success of a relationship.
‘And you realize how much you lose yourself and doing the things that you love and things that take care of you on a daily basis.’
Waller insisted that from his side, there was no bad feeling towards Plum.
Waller and Plum both gave contrasting views of their relationship after their breakup
But now, Waller can focus on football once again after helping the Dolphins to their first win
‘You have certain conversations and realize there’s so much life ahead of both of us, might as well just go ahead and live it and move on and no type of hostility,’ he said.
Now for Waller, with his team up and running and winning on his first appearance of the season, he can truly get back to focusing on football.
Waller ended the game with three receptions for 27 yards and two touchdowns.
The Dolphins return to action against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
