It is difficult to name National Football League (NFL) athletes who have stayed on one team since 2020. The constant offseason shuffle has left few players on one roster for more than six years. One of these players, Darius Slayton, was drafted to the Giants in 2019. Just days before their season opener, the New York Giants released the veteran wide receiver.
Slayton was a target of trade rumors all offseason. The Giants were adamantly looking to move the former fifth-round pick since the start of training camp. Although the situation was complicated, early reporting suggested that if the two sides couldn’t find a trade, Slayton would remain on the Giants’ 53-man roster despite his offseason surgery.
“I thought he played well. Had a heck of a camp,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh told the media. “He’s a great guy, great player, hard worker, and did a heck of a job like he’s always done here.”
The Giants chose this move six days before their season opener because of Slayton’s $12.2 million guaranteed deal. $9 million was guaranteed through camp, but on Saturday, the remaining cash would kick in.
“Grateful for my time in NY. 7 years a Giant nothing but love for one of the most prestigious organizations in the NFL,” Slayton wrote on X. “Excited to see what’s next.”
During his Giants’ tenure, Slayton recorded over 4,000 receiving yards, as well as 22 touchdowns. He never passed the 1,000-yard mark in his career.
Part of the reason that New York felt comfortable cutting a veteran presence after all of this time is the offseason addition of Darnell Mooney. The 28-year-old speedster recorded a 1,000-yard season with the Bears just a few years ago, then under Head Coach Matt Nagy, who is now the offensive coordinator for New York.
This signing was a bold move for New York, given their crowded core. After releasing Slayton from the roster, the vision for their offense is starting to come together. With Mooney, Malik Nabers likely returning from ACL injury, and tight end Isiah Likely, targets would be hard to come by for Nabers.
Of course, one of the biggest storylines this NFL offseason was the return of veteran Odell Beckham Jr. to New York. Beckham was a top receiver in the NFL and is most known for his memorable one handed catch in 2014. With such an emotional return to the Giants, it is easy to see that there is room for just one veteran presence in the receiving core. The irony of this move is that Beckham has not played a full season’s worth of games since 2019, the very year that Slayton was drafted to New York.
Some experts, like Yahoo Sports’ Ed Valentine, are analyzing early on that with the Giants losing another piece of this receiving room, Calvin Austin, the men in blue might regret cutting Slayton before the opener. Especially because of Slayton’s consistent reliability to handle a large number of snaps and take physical stress off of his teammates. However, Mooney, Nabers, Likely and Beckham should fare well with most secondaries. The group combined for over 1,000 yards last year amid injuries. Now, they are all healthy as they try to put together a recieving core without Slayton. Mooney will especially patch New York’s new hole in the slot.
The wide receiver is already being linked to teams such as the Colts and Titans, and will look to sign quickly as the NFL season kicks off Wednesday night. With his track record of quality play and availability, do not be shocked to see Slayton on a team’s roster very soon. The Giants play against division rival Dallas on Sunday Night Football.
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