Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) catches a pass for a touchdown over Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Nasir Adderley (24) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Michael Dixon on

While a recent report suggested he might be traded from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Green Bay Packers, tight end Darren Waller has heard nothing of the sort.

In an interview with The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio, Waller told Gelb that his focus is on learning the offensive system of new coach Josh McDaniels and his staff. Furthermore, he added that in conversations he had with the team, Waller was told in no uncertain terms that he’s not going anywhere.

“I’ve had talks with the team and they’ve said this is not a thing that’s happening,” Waller said. “There’s no trade that’s going to happen. Like I said, we’re just focusing on football, getting better, learning the system and seeing where it’s going to take us this year.”

This pretty much goes in line with comments made by his quarterback, Derek Carr.

Waller is one of the best receiving tight ends in football. Naturally, when a player that good is a part of a trade rumor, it’s going to get noticed. With that in mind, several Raiders fans were relieved to hear what Waller had to say about the rumored deal.

Packers fans, as expected, were not as enthused.

After middling for the early part of his career, Waller broke out in 2019. He caught 90 passes for 1,145 yards with three scores. The following season, he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards with nine touchdowns.

The 2021 season was more of a struggle, but that was owed more to missing time than anything else. In 11 regular season games in 2021, Waller caught 55 passes for 665 yards with two touchdowns. He added seven catches for 76 yards in the Raiders Wild Card Weekend loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

With that kind of productivity, it’s not surprising that the Packers and their fans would want to see Waller get traded to Green Bay. Similarly, we can understand why the Raiders and their fans would want to see how Waller will play in the team’s revamped offense.

[Zach Gelb]

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