After only eight years in the NFL, tight end Darren Waller retired after one season with the New York Giants. Now, he has revealed the moment he decided to step away from the game.

Speaking to Michael Schwartz, Waller revealed he began contemplating retirement while playing against the Buffalo Bills in 2023. It came after the Giants ran a series of run plays that used Waller like a fullback.

“I knew I was retiring when we played in Buffalo,” Waller recalled. “It was really controversial because one of the guys held me at the end of the game, [and] they didn't call it.

“It was in the first quarter of the game. We were running this counter-lead running play, and I'm kind of leading through the hole like I'm a fullback. The play is working, but I sit down on the sideline after a drive where we ran it like three times, and I'm like, ‘What the f**k am I doing? I'm out here playing fullback. I don't even want to do this s**t anymore,'” Waller continued.

While he did not retire during the season, Waller announced his retirement during the 2024 offseason. His one and only season with Big Blue was disappointing, as he only played in 12 games.

In that stretch, Waller caught 52 passes for 552 yards, the lowest figure he had logged since 2018. He also only caught one touchdown during the season.

The game against the Bills that he mentioned was the week after his best outing of the season at that point. One week earlier, he caught eight passes for 86 yards against the Miami Dolphins.

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However, quarterback Daniel Jones was injured during the game. That meant Tyrod Taylor had to start the following week against the Bills. They did let him throw it 36 times, but they also ran it 34 times as a team. Waller seemingly lost interest in the game during some of those runs.

What has former Giants star Darren Waller been up to since he retired?

Since his retirement, Waller has gotten into music. He released a single called “Who Knew” in 2024. He also appears to be an advocate for mental health, as he spoke about it during his interview with Schwartz.

Waller played eight seasons in the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He started his career in Baltimore, playing for the Ravens for two years. He missed the 2017 season after being suspended by the league for violating the substance abuse policy.

The Ravens would then release him in 2018, leading him to sign with the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders. He played five seasons with the team and made himself a household name with the Raiders.