NFL star Darren Waller highlighted sobriety as the reason for wearing number 12 at the New York Giants.
Waller fought alcohol addiction at a young age and has revealed that 12 is a reference to the 12 steps used in programs to help those who battle addiction. In an interview with the NFL Network, Waller explained that he will play with the number because he wants to support people in recovery.
“Twelve is a number that has a lot of meaning to me,” Waller said. “Somebody that’s in recovery. There are certain programs that people like me are a part of, and 12 is a very symbolic number. So, it’s just representing people that are in sobriety.”
The tight end was traded to the Giants in March after spending four years with the Las Vegas Raiders. After wearing the number 83 with the AFC West team, the 30-year-old has shifted back to the number 12, which he wore during his rookie season.
In his younger years, Waller didn’t just suffer from alcohol addiction. He began taking oxycodone at just 15 and started to drink at the age of 16. He began spending $100 per day on pills before getting hooked on cocaine later in his life. In August 2017, Waller overdosed in his parked vehicle, before spending 34 days in a substance abuse rehabilitation program.
“I started to rely on it for everything, and that’s how it became an addiction — like I had to rely on it to have fun,” he said back in 2020. “I had to rely on it to have some peace, I had to rely on it to celebrate, I had to rely on it when I was down about something, when I was lonely. So it was just like everything in my life revolved around it."
Waller is now set for a new chapter in his life when he commences his first season as a Giants player in September. He registered a Raiders franchise-record 107 receptions for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020, one year after he had 90 catches for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns in 2019.
He finished the 2021 season with 55 receptions for 665 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 11 games but was blighted by injury last season, where he was limited to 16 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown. But the 2020 Pro Bowler is relishing his new opportunity and vowed his best is yet to come.
He told The New York Post : “I believe so. I always believe my best days are ahead of me. I still believe I have a lot left in the tank. And as long as I’m out there on the field and I’m available, I believe that great things are gonna happen.”
The Giants ranked just 26th in explosive pass plays last season and if Waller can stay fit, the franchise will be feeling optimistic about improving that. “I’ve performed at a high level. … I was neck-and-neck with him statistically,” he added.
“The plans for this team, whatever they ask me to do, if it’s take on that kind of a burden, take on that large number of targets, I believe I can produce. Whatever the number is as far as opportunity, I try to be as efficient as possible.”
