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Wednesday update: The Raiders submitted an injury report with no names on it, so the hamstring issue appears to be resolved.
There are few injury situations more intriguing than Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller and his hamstring injury, which might not be a hamstring injury at all. Waller fired his agency at Klutch Sports and returned to practice on August 31. Given Waller’s contract isn’t guaranteed until Week 1 there is speculation this was simply a “hold in”.
A big day for Darren Waller: a new agent and he returns to practice. Fair to wonder if the "hamstring injury" was really an "I want a new contract" injury
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) August 31, 2022
Fantasy football implications
If Waller’s hamstring injury was simply a designation for him to avoid preseason and work on a new contract, then he should be good to go for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Waller is a definite TE1 this year and with the addition of Davante Adams to the Raiders passing game, he should have more space to operate. He might not reach the yardage totals of the 2019 and 2020 season, but Waller should get more looks in the red zone to make up for some of that.