Raiders TE Darren Waller: “I’m Meant to Be Here… It’s not by Accident”

In the Moment with David Greene

Raiders tight end Darren Waller is now considered one of the best tight ends in the NFL. But just a few years ago, he wondered if he would ever get back to the game. After being suspended for a year from the Ravens for a positive drug test, he was working in a local grocery store and going through rehab.

“When I took that job, I had no desire to play football,” Waller told In the Moment’s David Greene. “I was just trying to regain structure in my life.”

But Waller did come back to the NFL. The Raiders signed him in 2018. A few weeks later, he was playing in Cincinnati against the Bengals. Waller felt this was his moment to prove himself.

He caught a pass for 44-yards. “Just ran like I was running from a dog, put my head back and just ran,” Waller said.

David Greene sits down with Waller to break down why that moment meant so much to reviving his career. The two dive into the rollercoaster of a season the Raiders had last year including the controversy surrounding former head coach, Jon Gruden, who resigned after racist emails he wrote surfaced.

While Waller says the racist language didn’t sting him personally, he understands why others in the league were offended.