Giants’ Darren Waller likely out for weeks due to hamstring injury

Darren Waller – refer to caption – CC BY-SA

Tight end Darren Waller suffered a hamstring injury in the New York Giants’ 10-13 overtime loss to the New York Jets last Sunday.

Waller is estimated to be out for weeks after an MRI on Monday showed a moderate strain to his right hamstring.

“The main reason I missed eight games last year [with the Raiders] was because I was trying to come back and re-aggravating [my hamstring] like two or three times in practice where nobody could really see it. So it’s like ‘Where is this guy?’” Waller said.

“But [now I’m] taking a little more of an approach and saying, ‘OK, like, why not if it’s four weeks, if it’s three weeks, whatever it is, use that time efficiently and not try to be a hero and come back. Because that’s really just me stressing and pushing, and it’s like, I gotta take care of my body first.”

Waller said it was “very frustrating” and “a little bit discouraging” to have his right hamstring injured during the match. However, he said he would give anything he has during the remainder of his time with the Giants.

History of missed games

Waller has a history of physical injuries that forced him to miss important matches.

He suffered a strained left hamstring during a Week 5 game against the Kansas City Chiefs while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2022 season. Waller entered injury reserve and missed his team’s final three games.

“It’s not like I’m doing anything to keep myself off the field willingly,” said Waller. “I’m doing everything that I can. It just may not be happening in the timetable that I’d like for that to happen.”

Waller also suffered back and knee injuries during the Thanksgiving match against the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. Playing for the Las Vegas Raiders at that time, he eventually missed eight of 14 regular-season games.

The year 2022 saw the lowest dip in Waller’s performance, achieving only 388 yards in total during his last year with the Raiders.

His performance peaked in 2019 and 2020 when he achieved 1145 and 1196 yards consecutively.