1. It gives Slayton time to increase his trade value
Slayton’s time on the Giants roster could be temporary. The Giants could still look to trade Slayton before the Nov.1 deadline. Schoen has stated he wants to build the core of his roster through the draft, so it would make sense to trade an impending free agent for extra draft capital.
Now that Slayton is on the team, it is fair to assume he will receive a decent amount of playing time, especially with all the question marks the position group has. Even if the Giants are in playoff contention, the team can flip Slayton to a wide receiver needy team for a draft asset.
It would not have made much sense for the Giants to trade Slayton right before the roster cutdown deadline. Opposing front offices knew that Slayton’s roster spot with the Giants was in jeopardy, so the maximum return the Giants could have netted would have been a player who was on the bubble of another team’s roster.