Darren Waller scores twice for the Dolphins in his first NFL game in nearly 2 years

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Darren Waller made a quick impact during his first NFL game in nearly two years, and wound up having one of the best games of his career.

The Miami Dolphins tight end — playing his first game since the end of the 2023 season — caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa early in the second quarter against the New York Jets on Monday night.

He then added a 9-yard scoring catch early in the third quarter. It was the third two-touchdown game of Waller’s career.

The first score, which came when Miami elected to leave its offense on the field on fourth-and-goal instead of settling for what would have been a chip-shot field goal, put Miami up 10-0. The second one — which came shortly after Dolphins standout wide receiver Tyreek Hill was carted off with a left leg injury — put Miami up 17-3.

Waller had not played in more than a year after retiring in June 2024 as a member of the New York Giants. The 33-year-old came out of retirement in July to play for Miami but initially wasn’t practicing much with the Dolphins with hopes of working his way back into football shape.

He was most recently dealing with a hip strain and missed Miami’s first three games, all losses.

The Dolphins are Waller’s fourth team, after stints with Baltimore, the Raiders and the Giants. He had a pair of two-TD games previously, both for the Raiders, one in 2019 and the other in 2020.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL