Free agent TE Darren Waller, Panthers agree to 1-year deal

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The Carolina Panthers and free agent tight end Darren Waller reached agreement Wednesday on a one-year deal, his agency announced.

The 33-year-old playmaker spent last season with the Miami Dolphins working with new Panthers associate head coach/offensive specialist Darrell Bevell, who was Miami's passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

Waller came out of retirement in 2025 to join the Dolphins following a trade with the New York Giants. He battled multiple injuries in Miami, but in nine games he produced 24 catches for 283 yards and six touchdowns.

Waller, a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, has played nine seasons in the NFL but skipped the 2024 campaign for a retirement that proved temporary. He made the Pro Bowl with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 and has 374 receptions for 4,407 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career.

Waller joins a tight ends room fronted by veteran Tommy Tremble, who is entering his sixth season in Carolina. The unit also features 2025 fifth-round pick Mitchell Evans and 2024 fourth-rounder Ja'Tavion Sanders, as well as veterans James Mitchell and Feleipe Franks.

A source told ESPN that the Waller move was not because of an injury to one of the other tight ends on the roster.

With Waller joining the team, Sanders, a former starter, might need to battle to keep his job in Carolina. Unlike Tremble and Evans, Sanders played in the Hall of Fame Game last week, even after suffering a minor ankle injury earlier in the week. Sanders has struggled with ankle injuries the past two seasons and underwent surgery for the most recent ailment last season.

In 2025, the Panthers kept four tight ends on their 53-man roster -- Sanders, Evans, Tremble and Mitchell. With Waller aboard, the dynamic might shift, as Evans and Tremble are traditional tight ends, while Waller and Sanders are pass catchers, first and foremost. Franks, a former quarterback, is a special teams ace, while Mitchell struggled to find a consistent role on game days last year.

When Waller, who turns 34 in September, officially signs with the Panthers, he will become the oldest non-specialist on the roster. The Panthers entered Wednesday with just three non-specialists over 30.

The Panthers will need to make a corresponding move to add Waller to the roster. The team is currently at the 91-man limit, including an international exemption.

Reporting from ESPN contributed to this story.