The Miami Dolphins are finally getting some offensive firepower back. After missing the last four games with a pectoral injury, tight end Darren Waller is expected to return against the New Orleans Saints, giving Tua Tagovailoa back his biggest red-zone mismatch just as Miami clings to faint playoff hopes at 4-7. Waller scored four touchdowns in his first three games before going down on October 19, and the Dolphins have badly missed that presence in tight scoring situations.
To make his comeback official, Miami has cleaned up its roster. As Adam Schefter reported, the Dolphins activated offensive lineman Austin Jackson and tight end Darren Waller from injured reserve and waived tight end Hayden Rucci and offensive lineman Kion Smith. It is a clear signal: proven veterans are back in the mix, and depth pieces are the cost of making room.
Waller’s return is about more than a famous name. When he was on the field earlier this season, Miami used him as a red-zone hammer, isolating him on safeties and linebackers who simply could not match his size-speed combination.
Even with modest yardage totals in his first four games, his ability to finish drives turned the Dolphins into a tougher out inside the 20. Dropping him back into an attack that already features speed on the perimeter should force the Saints to decide what they want to take away.
This is exactly the reinforcement package Mike McDaniel has been hinting at. All week, he has kept his tone measured while acknowledging that Waller and Jackson were tracking toward a return, stressing how much their experience and versatility would help the Dolphins clean up execution in December. With Miami’s margin for error gone, adding a true red-zone weapon and a starting-caliber tackle in the same week is about as big a late-season boost as he could reasonably hope for.
Now it is on the Dolphins to turn health into results. If Waller looks like the early-season version of himself and Jackson solidifies the line, Miami’s offense suddenly has enough balance to make life miserable for the Saints on Sunday, and maybe to keep its season on life support a little longer.
