Given how quiet his summer was, the New York Giants’ decision to keep veteran receiver Darnell Mooney beyond final cuts certainly caught our attention.
In hindsight, maybe that should have been the first sign that Darius Slayton wasn’t long for New York. News broke early Monday evening that the Giants released the 29-year-old Slayton, their longest-tenured player and the final piece remaining from the Eli Manning era.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported that Slayton was “near the bottom” of the Giants’ receiver depth chart. We’re admittedly surprised given that we’re less than a week away from Opening Night, though it comes following recent rumors about Slayton or Odell Beckham Jr. potentially being a game-day scratch.
The Giants had not yet announced a corresponding move, which could theoretically be the promotion of Braxton Berrios from the practice squad.
What does Darius Slayton’s release mean for Darnell Mooney?
A few months ago, we were all aboard the Mooney bandwagon, and why wouldn’t we have been? Slayton was recovering from hernia surgery, Malik Nabers had suffered a setback in his recovery, and Malachi Fields is a rookie — and with respect to the now-injured Calvin Austin III, we’d previously seen Mooney impress in Matt Nagy’s system while with the Bears.
But here we are, only days away from kickoff against the rival Dallas Cowboys, and Mooney is still with the Giants. What might have sounded like an obvious outcome in July is one that still has our attention, though we’re not sure whether Slayton’s release will significantly impact Nagy and John Harbaugh’s plans for Mooney.
Granted, Mooney was one of four active receivers at the time of publication, but that doesn’t mean he’d be a popular target next Sunday night. Nabers is good to go, and tight end Isaiah Likely spent nearly all of offseason workouts and training camp as Jaxson Dart’s favorite player.
For all intents and purposes, Mooney is likely the No. 4 option at best, and he might be lower depending on how Harbaugh and Nagy feel about tight end Theo Johnson. As for Berrios, his value comes more from his role as a returner, but we’ve seen him contribute as a receiver in the past.
We suggest holding off on buying Mooney stock, at least for now. Next Sunday will be the true test because we didn’t see Mooney much in the preseason; he had the team’s permission to miss the Dolphins game while serving as the best man at his brother’s wedding.
The Giants have four receivers on the practice squad: Berrios, Dalen Cambre, Jalin Hyatt, and Charlie Jones. We’ll let you decide which of Mooney, Berrios, or Hyatt is worth the “anytime touchdown” prop bet.
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