The Las Vegas Raiders turned heads around the NFL this week when they traded rising star tight end Darren Waller to the New York Giants.
The Raiders received a compensatory third-round pick — the 100th overall — that originally belonged to the Kansas City Chiefs in the deal.
There has been much speculation as to why the Raiders dealt the young star.
One theory is a messy relationship with former head coach Josh McDaniels. Waller’s wife, WNBA guard Kelsey Plum, recently revealed that they did not invite McDaniels to their wedding. The Raider traded Waller right after his return from his honeymoon in Turks & Caicos.
Waller, however, spoke on the trade for the first time on Wednesday.
“I did not see this coming,” he told reporters Wednesday, according to NFL.com. “I was getting ready to just do everything I could to make myself available for the Raiders and get ready for everything that was going to start in mid-April. It caught me off guard, but it’s the nature of the business.”
Waller went on to reveal that he has no problem betting on himself going forward.
“I believe wholeheartedly in myself, and I believe that through action and through consistent performance, Giants fans will believe as well,” he said. “They can have questions at this moment about my health. Those are legitimate concerns, but I’m somebody that I believe I’ve addressed those issues. I’m willing to come out here and to be the best I can be to be a weapon for this team, a tool that this team can use to get to that next level that they want to go to. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
[NFL.com]
