Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Darren Waller missed a significant part of training camp due to a hamstring injury. However, some believe that there's more to this than what's on the surface as the 29-year-old tries to negotiate a new deal with his team.

Despite the rumors, however, what is important now is that Waller is ready to go for the Raiders. The Pro Bowl TE made it clear that he intends to suit up in Las Vegas' season opener on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. According to Waller himself, this is the only thing that's running through his mind right now (h/t Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal):

“Focus on Sunday, man,” he said. “Focus on the game plan. Focus on what they ask me to do.”

With regard to his hamstring injury, Waller refuted any claims that he was faking it. The former Georgia Tech standout said that he just needed the right amount of time to let his body heal, as well as to get his mind right ahead of the new season:

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“Sometimes you just can’t catch a break,” he said. “Football is rough; it demands a lot on your body. I wish I could have been out there in the time that I missed, but at the same time, yeah, is it time for me to make sure that things are in line as far as my body? Make sure mentally I’m in a place of peace and I can attack the season now.”

Because of the time he spent away from the team, there has been some talk about Waller potentially being set back with regard to his preparations for the new campaign with the Raiders. Darren Waller is having none of that:

“I’ve been at every meeting,” he said. “Even with my rehab stuff I’ve been on the field, they had scripts for me. So I’m able to process things in my head, where I’m lining up, where my conversions are. So I’m able to go back on the field and not really feel like I missed a lot of time or have a lot of rust.”