Darren Waller

Tight End

UPDATE: After 8 years in the NFL, Darren Waller retired in Jun 2024 at the age of 31. He walked away from a $10.5M season because of a medical issue that scared him enough to quit.

On his way home after shooting a music video he started shaking and ended up in the hospital for 3.5 days with no diagnosis. After taking a hard look at his life, he resigned. Darren eventually repaired things with his wife and moved west again. We wish Darren and Kelsey the best!

Original Page: Darren Waller is football’s prodigal son. After an injury in 2015, Darren went through suspensions from the NFL. One was for the entire 2017 season due to violating NFL substance-abuse policies.

Today, he has taken control of his life and is an inspiration for many who battle addiction. When he has free time, Darren is a motivational speaker talking about his well-publicized fight with drug dependency.

It’s really great to see Darren smiling and being triumphant in life again. His personal experience with addiction is a testament to all of us that we can fight dependency issues in our own lives.

A perfect match for the Raiders’ family spirit. His attitude these days?

“Let the results take care of itself, but I just try to be a good teammate first and foremost and be a part of the family. That’s what it’s all about for me.”

Not only is Darren a fan favorite, but he’s a Las Vegas Local’s favorite. When the team is doing a public appearance event in the city, whether with vets or kids, Darren is there. He was a 2021 Walter Peyton Nominee for a reason!

It seems that he doesn’t smile for the press, but he smiles for the people he meets. This is probably where we should have a picture of Darren smiling, but we voted and are posting him shirtless instead.

His 2021 stats weren’t as good as his 2020’s Pro Bowl season. However, in fantasy football stats he was ranked 3rd out of 20 tight ends. In real life, Darren only converted 2 of 10 end-zone passes that were thrown to him.

Every coach shakes up a team and Darren Waller was expensive. Josh McDaniels traded him to the NY Giants in March of 2023. His wife Kelsey Plum of Las Vegas Aces fame said he was let go because they didn’t invite Coach Josh to the wedding… In return, the Raiders go the 100th draft pick from the Giants. Tre Tucker was drafted and he is still a Raider.

Did You Know?

Darren’s Private Life

Word is that Darren is back together with Aces now Sparks WNBA guard and 2X Olympic gold medalist, Kelsey Plum. Darren stayed living on the east coast after retiring for a few months and according to other Raider Ladies, he has moved west. Wishing them health and happiness even though Kelsey switched teams and we will miss her.

Darren And The Baltimore Ravens

Darren was with the Baltimore Ravens prior to his year-long suspension from the NFL. The Raiders saw something in Darren and had trust in him that his triumph over drug dependence is permanent.

NFL Policies on Substance Use

There are actually two policies involving drug usage in the NFL: The “National Football League Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances” and “National Football League Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.” The first covers the performance-enhancing drugs that are used to cheat in the game, while the other one is the fun stuff that the government prohibits. Darren had too much fun.

Music in the Family

Darren remains close to his mother pictured on right. Fats Waller, the famous jazz musician, is the great-grandfather of Dorian Waller (Darren’s dad). See below a music video Darren made in 2019 but keep checking, there’s more. In 2022, Darren released another video. Reviews are mixed, and it’s not family-friendly. He’s young, talented, and has many years to dazzle us with his talent.