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WATCH: Jaylen Waddle grows special bond with six-year-old cancer patient

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•01/11/23•

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(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Rocco Passaro is a six-year-old Miami Dolphins fan from South Florida. His favorite player is Jaylen Waddle and is a big fan of the former Alabama star’s “penguin waddle” touchdown celebration.

They’ve also built a bond throughout this season as Passaro battled leukemia.

When Passaro received his diagnosis, his mother took to Facebook to ask if anyone had a connection with the Dolphins, as NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe detailed. He was looking at a bone marrow transplant during his battle, and his parents started building his bucket list.

That’s when one of her friends got her in touch with Dolphins Challenge Cancer — and, after that, Waddle connected with Passaro.

“Rocco’s my guy,” Waddle said. “He’s a cool kid, man. He’s a cool kid.”

As Passaro went through his battle with leukemia, he attended Dolphins practices and developed relationships with Waddle and his teammates. They also gave him tickets to the Super Bowl even though his family didn’t think he’d be healthy enough to go.

Then, he got the news he’d been waiting for.

“I don’t have any more cancer,” Passaro told the Dolphins, who gave him a huge cheer in celebration.

The idea of a bone marrow transplant was gone. Although he had to undergo a lung operation, Wolfe reported, things are looking up for Passaro.

He certainly left his mark on the Dolphins, too.

“To keep fighting, to keep moving forward, to keep pushing,” Waddle said of Passaro’s impact. “He’s just an inspiration — not just for me, but for the team.”

After Passaro found out he beat leukemia, he had a message for the Dolphins. He said they needed to go win the Super Bowl. Although Waddle didn’t necessarily promise that, he offered the young fan a message of support before his surgery.

“Jaylen Waddle gave him a message of support saying, ‘Stay strong and we’ll win for [you],'” Wolfe said.

Miami made it to the playoffs as a No. 7 seed and will start the postseason against the Buffalo Bills Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Waddle had an impressive regular season, as well, totaling 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns to help lead the high-powered Dolphins offense.