Darren Waller

Um, I didn't know.

I didn't really have high expectations coming in.

I was just more so thinking of the fact like, OK, this opportunity has been organically presented to me to step back into football and kind of restore a sense of balance in the love I have for football.

But also like there's the shadow part of me that hated football because it was the what I used to gain validation.

And it wasn't like outside the authentic me.

So in a way, like I resented the

success in the career because it was like, this is part of the mask almost.

This is part of like the, the image and the charade almost.

So it was like stepping back in, I felt like it was an opportunity from, from my higher power to restore balance to that and realize like, okay, there are some things about football that are difficult and that I'm just like, ah, okay.

That you got to like grind through and experience, but there are also still parts that I love and that I get excited about and get energized by and,

And so just trying to hold to that perspective, you know, I think is what this season provided me at.

getting getting in and showing up to training camp with like like there was I was not preparing myself in any way physically to come back to this this was like a couple weeks before training camp where it was like um I think I'm gonna do this because I went uh Frank Smith is like he was my tight end coach like the best years of my career and he uh just invited me out to one of the OTA practices which is like come visit come hang out like I want you to see you haven't

been here since I've been here.

So come check it out.

And I went to the practice and then left from there.

And I was just kind of like, why do I feel like I'm being pushed back in this direction now?

Um, and so kind of trusting that and thinking like I get in, get to the team and, um,

Actually, like right after like July 4th to kind of like, you know, kind of get my body back into it.

No.

At the end of the second week of being with the team and training and doing a speed workout, I damn near blow my hip off of my –