Darius Slayton Unsure of Future With Giants

Has New York Giants fourth-year receiver Darius Slayton done enough to avoid a visit from the Turk?

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Aug 28, 2022 6:37 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton has tried to keep his focus and do what he can to convince the NFL community that he's still a productive receiver in an offense.

But Slayton isn't oblivious to the fact that his production since he recorded a career-best eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2019 has slipped each year since.

Slayton, who has dealt with injuries the last couple of years and admitted that a tweaked hamstring suffered earlier this summer has slowed him down, has only managed one catch this summer for 17 yards. He's also seen the other younger receivers step up in their quest to earn a roster spot.

And Slayton appears to be at peace with whatever the next 48 hours holds for his future.

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"Every year, it’s like my fourth time doing this," he said. "I don’t stress about it too much. At the end of the day, if it's meant for me to be here, I'll be here. If it's not, I won't."

Slayton, the Giants fifth-round pick in 2019 and who in his contract year is due to earn $2.5 million thanks to performance escalators that inflated his base earnings, said he wouldn't use the word "surprised" if he were to end up somewhere else at this point.

"Yeah, I feel like other guys can pass if they’re going into contract years or their fourth years. I feel like I had a little bit of an example, I guess," he said. "That wasn’t the word I was looking for, but sure. An example of what it’s like and how to deal with it. We’ll see what happens."

Slayton admitted that the hamstring issue hurt him because he couldn't run as fast as he's capable of running, and "it’s pretty important to run fast." But in looking other his summer, he feels like it wasn't a total washout.

"I think throughout camp, I made plays, for sure," said Slayton. "I think I showed up in some spots, showed some flashes, and hopefully, it was enough."

He'll find out soon enough if it was.