Darius Slayton on His Role With the Giants: "You Control What You Can Control"

With Malik Nabers and rookie Malachi Fields pushing him further down the depth chart, Slayton says he's not sweating it.

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton has been down this road before.

He’s heard the rumblings about his place on the Giants roster, the shortcomings in his game, his contract, and the overall decreasing support Giants fans have been willing to give him.

But Slayton, the longest-tenured member of the team, has built up some callouses to help him block out the noise and keep the focus on the challenges that lie before him each day.

“It's not the first time, probably won't be the last time,” he said of the negative chatter attached to his name. “But I really don't pay it too much mind, honestly. I take it day by day.”

That’s really all the 29-year-old receiver can do. Slayton has endured more losing over his NFL career than he is probably willing to embrace openly. He was asked to take a pay cut in 2022 under the new regime of GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll or risk losing his roster spot, and he chose to take the cut.

He was also benched early on in that 2022 season as a healthy scratch before finally finding his way back into the lineup and rewarding Daboll’s faith in him with one of his most productive seasons, in which he posted 724 receiving yards, his fourth season (out of five) with 700+ yards.

More recently, he attempted to rework his contract, only to be rebuked and instead offered incentives designed to inflate his earnings. And this past offseason, he underwent surgery to correct a sports hernia, the surgery keeping him out of the spring practices.

But through it all, Slayton has stuck with the only organization he’s ever played for because he has said that he desires to help turn things around.

The irony in that desire, though, is that his role has shrunk ever since the team drafted Malik Nabers in 2024, and it’s expected to shrink even more now that rookie Malachi Fields is on the scene.

“Anytime there are new people, there's going to be that,” he said of the uncertainty around his status. “I've just been fortunate to be here for four (coaching) staffs.

"So, I don't take it personally. I understand that you have to show and prove yourself whenever there's something new. So, that's what I plan to do this year.”

His immediate goal is to continue getting back to 100 percent health, which he admitted he’s not quite there yet. And whatever his role is in this new offense, he plans to carry it out and not worry about whether his days with the team are numbered.

“At the end of the day, you control what you can control and let the rest fall where it may,” he said.  

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.