Giants TE Darren Waller seems to take shot at Raiders

Tight end Darren Waller is enjoying life as a member of the New York Giants but seemed to take a shot at the Las Vegas Raiders, his former club, on Thursday. 

"Yeah, they value our opinions here," Waller said of the Giants amid voluntary organized team activities, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN. "As a player, I feel like a lot of places I've gone, you're told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here it's like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you're thinking, what you want to do more. So to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. We're all together and shouldn't be clashing with each other. We're all going in the same direction."

Waller played for the Raiders from the 2018 season through the 2022 campaign until he was traded to the Giants this past March. 

It was subsequently reported that Waller had a falling out with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels after McDaniels "accidentally" leaked during the combine that the 30-year-old was getting married to Kelsey Plum of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. Waller and Plum hadn't publicly announced their wedding plans. 

Raanan added that "there was a point of contention (between Waller and the Raiders) when Waller left during the bye week to propose to...Plum instead of rehabbing and didn't provide the team an explanation of where he was going." Whatever did or didn't happen with Las Vegas, Waller seems ready to serve as the primary target for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones beginning in September. 

"This is a really light place, a really fun place, a really empowering place where you just be yourself always," Waller continued. "And as long as you're not putting the team at risk by getting a flag or things like that, you can really let your personality show. That's what I love about being here. It's just been fun. It's also been challenging. Guys holding you to a high standard since I got here and I try to reciprocate that."

Waller joins the Giants with a concerning injury history hovering over his status and after he tallied just 28 catches for 388 yards and three touchdowns across nine games during what became his final season with the Raiders. He'll look to recover the form that made him a Pro Bowl selection for the 2020 campaign while catching passes thrown by Jones this fall.