Darren Waller changed his offseason approach. Now he’s hoping it helps change the Panthers

That patience has paid dividends over the last few months, as Waller waited to find a place to land with a team. He knew exactly what shortened his season last year with the Dolphins. Despite finishing with 24 catches for 283 yards and six touchdowns in just nine games, it was the eight missed games that stuck with him.

“I think last year there was definitely a step back, probably in my long speed,” Waller explained, “just because I showed up to training camp with no football foundation of training to the Dolphins.”

The Pro Bowler retired from the game after the 2023 season and spent all of 2024 away from the field. The recording artist said he still has over 30 unreleased songs recorded during that time. It wasn’t until the offseason ahead of 2025 that he realized he still had more to give, and elected to return. When he arrived for Dolphins training camp in mid-July, he’d only just begun getting back into football shape.

The first injury was a hip flexor.

“A rectus femoris hip flexor,” he corrects, referring to the strain to the muscle that is both the primary hip flexor and extends the knee. “It was like a grade 3. The second week I got there, I hadn’t sprinted since I retired, and in the speed workout, it’s like I got shot for real.”

Other injuries popped up throughout the season, something Waller referred to as putting out small fires all year just to be available for the game.