The Carolina Panthers have made the signing of tight end Darren Waller official on Monday.
Last week it was reported that the Carolina Panthers were set to sign tight end Darren Waller as training camp rolled on. While the report was last week, the Panthers waited to make it official due to the preseason game on Saturday.
But on Monday, the Panthers finally made it official as they have announced the signing of Waller.
The 33-year-old Waller now heads to Carolina after a season in which he was in Miami. He was retired for the 2024 season before deciding to return to the football field and join the Dolphins.
Waller had a productive season in Miami, finishing with 24 receptions for 283 yards and six touchdowns in just nine total games.
The deal is for one year as Waller joins a Panthers team that could use some help at the tight end position. With the focus on Bryce Young and the offense, adding another weapon to the offense is never a bad idea. At worst, it's just a one-year flier for the Panthers.
"Just looking for ways to challenge our roster, challenge our rooms," Canales told reporters. "Bringing different types of talent into the rooms to really challenge the group and see what we have there."
"We felt like it was a good fit," he added. "There was a lot of conversations back and forth—about the vision, about the group that he's coming into. So felt comfortable about that, found an agreement and we'll bring him in and do the physical and all that stuff."
Waller showed his excitement by releasing a hype video after the signing was official.
Carolina will look to ease Waller in during practices as training camp rolls on. It's very unlikely he will play in Friday's preseason game against Jacksonville. We will have to wait and see if he does play at some point in the preseason or if his debut will come in the regular season.
To make room for Waller, the Panthers waived offensive lineman Josh Gray and outside linebacker Nick Hampton. Hampton was waived with an injury settlement.
