Darius Slayton Expresses Sorrow Over Daniel Jones's Season-ending Injury
When it was announced that New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones would miss the rest of the season after sustaining a torn ACL in Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, his teammates didn't hold back on their sadness and disappointment for their fallen leader on offense.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton, who came into the league in the same draft class as Jones back in 2019. “You don’t ever want to see any of your teammates go down, but for me personally, being here my whole career with DJ and kind of just the natural connection a receiver and quarterback have. Obviously, for me, I think it’s a bit personal.”
In 2021, Jones missed the season's final six games due to a neck injury, and the Giants offense struggled to move the ball with backups Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon under center.
With Tyrod Taylor on IR with a rib cage injury this year, the Giants quarterbacks will see undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito as the starter, backed up by veteran journeyman Matt Barkley.
To most, that's not exactly a rosy picture for a 2-7 Giants team that appears to be competing more so for a high draft pick than a spot in the postseason, but Slayton had a different perspective.
“We were in a bit of a different predicament then, in a different space than we (are) now as a team,” he said. “I think DeVito played pretty well (Sunday) with the time he had and will continue to build and get better.
"And Matt Barkley has been in the system for a long time, so he’s in a bit different predicament than even the quarterbacks we had back then where we’re trying to learn something, whereas he already knows. I think the guys that we have will be able to do a good job for us going forward.”
It hasn't exactly been a secret that Jones and Slayton have forged a close bond on and off the field. Through his social media accounts, Slayton is always quick to defend his friend from the naysayers.
But with Jones's latest injury, there is already talk about replacing him as the starter, even though his cap hit next year makes it impossible to cut him from the roster. Slayton, however, believes that Jones will prevail through all the chatter, just as he's always done since turning pro.
“You can’t control what people say,” said Slayton. “Quite frankly, people have been trying to get myself and him and multiple others out of here since we’ve been here. That hasn’t stopped us before, and it won’t stop us now.
"He’s a resilient human being, he’s a good football player, and at the end of the day, he’ll be back healthy again one day, and he’ll be back playing pro football somewhere--hopefully here--and I look forward to that day.”
In the interim, Slayton said it's important for the team to keep its focus and play their hearts out in an attempt to notch a few more wins.
"We have to stay together as a unit and continue to fight," Slayton said. "Even if the odds may not be in our favor, at the end of the day, our job is to go out there and play to the best of our ability, and that’s what we have to do.”
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