New York Giants tight end Darren Waller has been activated from injured reserve and is set to play in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, as announced by the team on Saturday.
Waller’s 21-day activation window opened earlier this week, during which he participated in limited practice on both Thursday and Friday. After taking part in team drills, he was officially listed as questionable for the upcoming matchup.
The former Pro Bowl tight end had been sidelined for the past five games due to a hamstring injury. Waller expressed confidence in his readiness for Sunday, emphasizing that there were “no issues” during practice. He showcased his full speed while running routes and is eager to contribute against the Saints.
Having won three consecutive games with undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito as quarterback, the Giants (5-8) are trailing by one game for the final NFC wild-card spot. Waller, 31, led the team in receiving yards with 384 at the time of his injury, recording 36 catches and one touchdown in his debut season with New York.
The Giants had high expectations for Waller, trading for him in the offseason at the cost of a third-round pick (No. 100 overall in the 2023 NFL draft). He was anticipated to be the primary target for quarterback Daniel Jones, but the injury disrupted those plans.
As Waller returns, he becomes an additional target for DeVito, who started the season on the practice squad. Acknowledging that he hasn’t caught many passes from the rookie quarterback, Waller anticipates a somewhat limited workload in his comeback. Accustomed to playing 100% of offensive snaps when healthy, he understands that won’t be the case in New Orleans.
“Probably not 100% of the workload. There will probably be a certain number of reps they’re looking at as far as a pitch count,” Waller stated on Friday. “I don’t know how many that would be. I don’t know if it would be certain situations in the game. I’ve just got to figure it out, but it would probably be a lot less than 100%.”
