The New York Giants will need rookie Theo Johnson to get up to speed quickly this offseason. The tight end is expected to be asked to have a larger role in the upcoming season after a veteran announces his retirement after one year with the team.
The New York Giants drafted Theo Johnson for a reason
The Giants drafted Johnson in the fourth round of the draft, knowing Darren Waller’s fate was up in the air this spring. Wallen, at 31, has been considering retirement since the end of last season. He wants to pursue a music career post-football, and he recently released an embarrassing music video about his divorce from Kelsey Plum.
Darren Waller is expected to retire
According to Jordan Raanan with ESPN, Waller is expected to announce his retirement before next week:
New York Giants tight end Darren Waller is likely to make a decision by next week’s mandatory minicamp about his playing future, and people in and around the team expect that he’s going to retire, multiple sources told ESPN. Those close to him believe he’s leaning in that direction.
Waller, 31, said during an Instagram Live on Friday that was a decision was coming very soon. He has been contemplating retirement since the end of last season and hasn’t attended any of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts this spring.
The Giants gave the Las Vegas Raiders a compensatory 2023 third-round pick for Waller last offseason. He appeared in 12 games and started in 11. He caught 52 passes for 552 yards and one touchdown.
Waller is under contract with the Giants through the 2026 season.
The Giants could gain nearly $12 million by cutting Waller
Per Raanan, the Giants could add nearly $12 million in cap space by designating Waller as a post-June 1 cut:
The Giants would gain $11.9 million in cap savings this year is he were a post-June 1 cut.
New York currently has just $1.6 million available in cap space, according to NFL Players Association records. That is the lowest of any team. They will likely need more to get through the 2024 season, but have factored in that Waller retiring could be their solution.
Regardless of the cap savings, losing Waller would be a disappointing blow for Daniel Jones and the Giants’ offense. They’ve added several wide receivers this offseason, but Jones needs tight ends to dump the ball off to.
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