Throughout the offseason, it has felt completely unknown if NY Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton will stay with the team for the start of the regular season. Trade rumors were flying earlier this offseason, while people still believe that the speedster could end up getting cut as well by general manager Joe Schoen.
No one knows what will happen with Slayton, but if the Giants do trade him, landing a veteran cornerback in return sure would make a lot of sense. Could New York cut him before Week 1 arrives? Again, that remains to be seen, but the buzz continues to have things going in that direction. With ESPN dropping a piece on ‘cut candidates’ for each squad, Slayton’s name being mentioned by team insider Jordan Raanan isn’t a surprise.
Will the NY Giants release Darius Slayton before camp?
"“Slayton is entering the final season of his rookie deal, and there were at least some discussions about moving him last year and this offseason,” Raanan said of the wideout. “With a new regime, his spot appears uncertain, especially after spending the spring working plenty with the second team, even with the top three wide receivers injured. It didn’t help that Slayton dropped some wide-open passes deep downfield during OTAs and minicamp. If the Giants’ wide receiving corps is healthy, they do have numbers.”"
Despite the Giants being without Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay as full participants at OTAs and camp, the two are (knock on wood) supposed to be ready for the start of the season. The same can be said for former first-round pick Kadarius Toney. Add in second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson, who was making plays at minicamp for Brian Daboll, and the unit is looking strong.
Slayton very well could return to the Giants this fall in what would be considered a ‘prove-it’ year, but if Schoen does release him, the WR depth looks pretty dang good for this offense right now. Cutting Slayton wouldn’t be back-breaking at all for the unit. Remember he has a 2022 cap hit of just under $2.6 million. We should find out soon whether or not Slayton will be playing in East Rutherford this campaign or not, but things really could go either way in this case.