It took the New York Giants well over a year to realize that they had made a mistake by signing Darius Slayton to a new contract. It took the Indianapolis Colts three weeks.
After Slayton's slow, inevitable fall down the Giants' depth chart throughout the preseason, John Harbaugh finally made the decision to release him. Even in a thin Giants wide receiver room, there wasn't a spot for the man who had signed a $36 million deal with the team not too long ago.
The Colts needed some help at the position, so they scooped him up. But after a few weeks of zero contributions from the veteran, they too realized that he didn't have much to give and released him.
Former Giants WR Darius Slayton released by Colts
Believe it or not, there was a time when Slayton was Big Blue's top receiver. He led the team in receiving yards in both 2022 and 2023, though doing so cleared an admittedly low bar. Even as the Giants' top pass catcher, he never posted more than 816 receiving yards in a season.
Slayton's decline with the Giants was slow and painful. His targets, receptions, and receiving yards have dropped in each season since 2022. Even in 2025, when Malik Nabers missed the majority of the season, Slayton failed to become a primary option in New York's offense. Instead, Wan'Dale Robinson and Theo Johnson took on the brunt of the workload.
With an influx of talent at the position this offseason (even if some of that talent wouldn't ultimately last), he kept falling down the depth chart. He did technically make the initial 53-man roster, but he was released before the season opener.
Harbaugh was quick to sing the receiver's praises after his release, claiming that the veteran would land on his feet.
Following Slayton's release, Harbaugh said, “He's going to be fine. He's going to land somewhere, he's going to play football somewhere, and we're going to move forward. That's how football goes. Nothing lasts forever.”
He did just land somewhere, at least for a moment.
But in three games, Slayton never logged a single snap for the Colts. Indianapolis had Laquon Treadwell and 34-year-old Keenan Allen taking starting receiver reps, and Slayton still couldn't work his way onto the field.
With the rest of the Colts' receiver room starting to get healthy, Slayton was once again squeezed off the roster. At least Indianapolis learned what they were (or were not) getting out of the veteran much faster than New York did.
Add us as a preferred source on Google