Darren Waller Says Giants 'Value' Players' Opinions After Offseason Raiders Trade

Veteran tight end Darren Waller feels a little more empowered now that he's a member of the New York Giants.

He told reporters Thursday that the Giants "value our opinions here."

"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," the 2020 Pro Bowler said. "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."

The Giants acquired Waller from the Las Vegas Raiders in March. The Raiders freed up more cap space in the trade, but it didn't take long for additional context behind the deal to surface.

The Athletic's Vic Tafur reported that Waller was upset Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels spilled the beans on his upcoming nuptials to Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum. Plum also made it clear McDaniels wasn't even invited to the event:

One could infer there was a level of discord between McDaniels and Waller that extended beyond the wedding snafu. ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported in April that Waller had a "rocky" relationship with his head coach in addition to Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler over time.

The 30-year-old appears to have found his change of scenery refreshing.