Is Darren Waller playing today vs Saints? Giants TE's availability status explored for Week 15

Modified Dec 17, 2023 07:20 GMT

Darren Waller returns vs the New Orleans Saints

Darren Waller is back. The one-time Pro Bowl tight end has not been seen since the Week 8 overtime loss against the New York Jets. However, he's still the New York Giants' second-most prolific receiver, with 36 catches for 384 receiving yards but only one touchdown.

Big Blue has been struggling in 2023, though, and they clearly needed Waller back. Now they are getting him back against the New Orleans Saints. So what exactly happened, and why is he playing again only now?

What happened to Darren Waller? Week 15 update on Giants TE

During the first quarter loss to the Jets, the Giants experiened something they did not want to see: a Darren Waller injury. He hurt his hamstring and was subbed out. After the game, coach Brian Daboll saif that they would analyze his situation "day by day".

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The absence would last five games, also encompassing their bye week. But on Saturday, the tight end was announced to have been reactivated ahead of the game at the Saints. He had been a limited participant in Thursday and Friday practices after missing Wednesday.

However, there's a caveat to that announcement: Darren Waller will have a snap limit, meaning he's on a reduced workload as he looks to fully recover. Exactly how many snaps it will be and which of them, he has not elaborated:

"I've just got to figure it out, but it would probably be a lot less than 100%."

What time and channel is the Giants game on?

The New York Giants-New Orleans Saints game kicks off at 1 p.m. EST on FOX. Streaming is available on fuboTV and NFL+.

As mentioned before, the Giants have fallen hard back down to earth after a shocking 2022 campaign that saw them go 9-7-1 anf enter the playoffs for the first time since the Eli Manning era.

Quarterback Daniel Jones, who had secured a massive four-year, $160-million extension in the offseason, went down with a season-ending ACL tear during their Week 9 loss at Darren Waller's former teammates in Las Vegas.

Since then, undrafted rookie Tommy de Vito has been handling the offense, going 3-1 as a starter; and now he will have a very credentialed passing option.

Meanwhile, the Saints are still a candidate to win the notoriously weak NFC South despite Derek Carr's struggles. Sophomore wideout Chris Olave has become a revelation for them, being their leading receiver in almost every game.