Raiders’ Waller, seeking deal, hires new agents

Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Darren Waller has hired new agents as he hopes to get a new contract before the start of the season.

Waller cut ties with Klutch Sports last week after less than a year with that agency and signed Wednesday with Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.

“I plan on going to work on this right away,” Rosenhaus said in a text message about getting Waller a new contract.

Waller has two years remaining on the contract he signed during the 2019 season. He is owed just less than $14 million in those years with no guaranteed money and is seeking a new deal that reflects his production.

According to the website Over The Cap, Waller’s average annual salary ranks 17th among all tight ends in the NFL.

Since becoming a starter in 2019, Waller ranks second in the NFL among all tight ends with 252 catches for 3,006 yards, trailing only Kansas City’s Travis Kelce in both categories. He is also tied for fifth with 14 TD catches the past three years.

Waller, who turns 30 on Sept. 13, played 11 games last season when he was hampered by ankle and knee injuries. He had 55 catches for 665 yards and two TDs.

The Raiders are counting on Waller to be part of a dynamic passing attack for quarterback Derek Carr that includes All-Pro receiver Davante Adams and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.

Waller has missed most of training camp because of an undisclosed injury. He returned to practice once on Aug. 17 but has been sidelined again since then with a hamstring injury.

Waller is returning to practice on Wednesday, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.

“Darren’s good. Darren’s good to go so you’ll see him today. I don’t really know anything about that whole thing, the whole [agent] situation yet,” McDaniels said Wednesday. “But he’ll be out there today and, excited about kind of moving forward here with our whole group and trying to get guys in positions where we feel like they’re going to be as we head into the opening week next week. So, just excited.”

The Raiders open the season on Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.