There's no player on this New York Giants roster who has been through more with the team than Darius Slayton. The veteran wideout has been here through three coaching regimes, multiple benchings, and ongoing trade rumors that nearly resulted in him being sent to the Steelers before last year's trade deadline.
Yet through all of that drama, Slayton has remained a model teammate and leader within the Giants' locker room. So after Big Blue fired Brian Daboll and promoted Mike Kafka to interim head coach, he made sure to let his teammates know they shouldn't stop fighting for their roster spot and this team.
#NYGiants Slayton - some guys may pack it in during a situation like this... it would be smart for players to do their best to earn the right to stay
— GiantsWFAN (@giantswfan) November 12, 2025
The 2019 fifth-round pick out of Auburn has never went for more than 770 receiving yards in a single season, yet he remains one the biggest fan favorites on the roster. Even though he's been done dirty several times by the Giants, No. 18 is the textbook definition of consistency in the modern NFL.
Darius Slayton is finding ways to keep the Giants united
For a player who has been through two coaching changes before, his experience and comfort in this situation is invaluable for a young Giants' locker room. Aside from him and Dexter Lawrence II, the majority of this G-Men roster has never been in a situation like this, so it's reassuring to know it's not an entirely new feeling to some players.
There have been several instances this season where it looked like this team was quitting under Daboll's tutelage and he almost certainly lost the locker room. So maybe the coaching change can inject some life into a team that aside from Jaxson Dart's emergence has looked lifeless since Malik Nabers' season ended in Week 4.
There is especially reason for optimism when you consider that players like Slayton are helping to keep the locker room united. However, the 2-8 Giants have lost four straight and will host Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, which is no small feat for Kafka's coaching debut.
Despite what may have transpired in the past, Joe Schoen righted some wrongs by signing the 28-year-old to a three-year, $36 million contract extension last offseason—and he even managed to take a pay cut at the betterment of the team in order to stay in New York.
Not only has he been a trusted voice amid the losing streak, he and Wan'Dale Robinson have kept an absolutely brutal receiver room afloat. That is true loyalty to the blue and white, as Slayton continues to prove that he may not be a franchise legend, but his impact will never be forgotten.