Tight end Darren Waller moved from the Raiders to the Giants in a trade this offseason and he shared his thoughts about his new home during a session with reporters on Thursday.
Waller also played for the Ravens early in his career and said that there are “different cultures everywhere you go” in the NFL. He said he’s found the Giants have created “a really empowering place” for players, which makes for a notable difference from his previous stops.
“Yeah, they value our opinions here,” Waller said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “As a player, I feel like a lot of places I’ve gone, you’re told to do things a certain way and you do those things. But here it’s like, they ask a lot of questions. They want to know what you’re thinking, what you want to do more. So to offer input is a really cool thing because coaches and players have to be in partnership. We’re all together and shouldn’t be clashing with each other. We’re all going in the same direction.”
Waller dealt with injuries last season and only had 28 catches in nine games, so the hope will be that the good feelings about the change of scenery will translate into a return to productivity on the field.