Darius Slayton has made the Giants‘ initial 53-man roster.
But don’t let that fool you.
The Giants are likely retaining the wide receiver, who they drafted in 2019’s fifth round, in order to find a trade partner. With calls reportedly being made, general manager Joe Schoen still needs to see if he can get anything back. Dumping Slayton without anything in return would be a missed opportunity.
Slayton’s Giants future is certainly in doubt. But he’s smart enough to realize it, and apparently relaxed enough to make a wisecrack.
#Giants WR Darius Slayton to me on trade rumors: "If the Rams call them and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’ll give you Aaron Donald for Darius Slayton,’ I’d make that trade, too.’’
— NYPost_Cannizzaro (@MarkCannizzaro) August 30, 2022
Obviously, the Rams aren’t trading Aaron Donald for Slayton — Dave Gettleman isn’t running the show in Los Angeles.
Schoen will likely be making a move though. Or he’ll at least work until the very last second to make something happen.
Slayton has been buried on the depth chart following the 2021 signing of Kenny Golladay, 2021 drafting of Kadarius Toney, and 2022 drafting of Wan’Dale Robinson. Schoen even restructured the contract of Sterling Shepard this past offseason to ensure he remained a Giant, even after he tore his Achilles in December. Combine that with Slayton’s decline in production since 2019 along with his slow and injury-hampered preseason, and you realize the exit sign is closer than ever.
But don’t expect the Giants to earn much for Slayton at all. At best, he’s a No. 3 receiver with scarce special teams value. Ergo, he’d be easily replaceable for any team acquiring him.
General managers around the league are also aware of the Giants’ disastrous cap situation (just under $1 million in cap room, per Spotrac) and how they would save $2.54 million in space by trading or cutting Slayton. This will further diminish the Giants’ leverage in trade talks, and render a sixth- or seventh-round pick as the return for the inconsistent wideout
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