Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum and now-former Raiders tight end Darren Waller tied the knot only a week and a half ago, but the latter is already departing the Sin City. The Raiders traded Waller to the Giants on Tuesday for a third-round pick (No. 100 overall).
It’s a less-than-ideal situation for the newlyweds, to say the least. To go from playing in the same city to now 2,500 miles apart? Kind of a coldhearted move by the Raiders and head coach Josh McDaniels, as pointed out by former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III on Twitter.
But despite the move, it’s Plum who’s getting the last laugh…
Prolly cause he wasn’t invited to the wedding lol https://t.co/K3i7oW5oe4
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) March 15, 2023
And this one appears to run deep.
The trade comes 10 days after Darren Waller’s wedding to Aces guard Kelsey Plum. The timing is only interesting because Josh McDaniels accidentally leaked the news of his wedding to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. …
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) March 14, 2023
Pretty rough for a guy who’s stock in Vegas is already plummetting after a dreadful first season as Raiders head coach. The Raiders finished 6-11 after making the playoffs the year prior with then-interim coach Rich Bisaccia. There was also the scapegoating of longtime Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who was released by the team before signing with the Saints earlier this month.
Regardless, both Waller and McDaniels are headed their separate ways, with the former joining the weapon-needy Giants. Big Blue wasn’t expected to make a huge splash in free agency, but this move is certainly significant. The Giants desparately needed to improve the offensive supporting cast for quarterback Daniel Jones after signing him to a four-year, $160 million contract. Despite having dealt with injuries each of the last two years, Waller was an elite-level producer as recent as 2020. He led all tight ends with 107 receptions and was second with 1,196 yards that year, and could bring the same pass-catching skills to East Rutherford.
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