Back with the New York Giants, wide receiver Darius Slayton needs somebody to throw him the football now.
The former Auburn standout re-signed with New York on Thursday after becoming an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, and Slayton has a pitch for free-agent quarterbacks, such as Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson, who might be considering joining the Giants.
“I would just tell them: Look, we have a lot of young, talented players, specifically pass-catchers,” Slayton said. “I think we’re a very quarterback-friendly unit. I think for a veteran quarterback or for a young quarterback, either way, they’d be coming into a good situation, full of good players. And we’ve got two great tackles, so you’re safe. The left tackle is one of the best in the league. The right tackle is one of the best right tackles in the league. You’re safe. We’ve got weapons.
“I think any quarterback should look at this situation as the sky is the limit.”
The Giants produced the fewest points in the NFC in 2024 while using three starting quarterbacks. New York has one quarterback on its current roster – Tommy DeVito, who made two starts as the third-stringer in 2024.
“In free agency, that’s pretty important for a receiver, to know who is going to be throwing the ball,” Slayton said. “Me, (head coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) and (general manager) Joe (Schoen) had those discussions, and I believe in the vision that they have and the plan that they have and that they’re going to get somebody in here that’s going to be able to spin it and be able to lead us in the right direction.”
Despite New York’s quarterback situation, wide receiver Malik Nabers produced 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns after the Giants took him at No. 6 in the 2024 NFL Draft. Former second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson had the best of his three NFL seasons with 93 receptions for 699 yards and three touchdowns.
Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. didn’t reach the starting lineup until the fifth game, but he produced 839 yards and five touchdowns on 192 rushing attempts and 284 yards and one touchdown on 38 receptions in 2024.
As rosy as Slayton’s pitch makes the Giants’ future look, when NFL free agency arrived this week, the wide receiver seemed as good as gone from New York.
“I understand why people would be surprised,” Slayton said of his sticking with the Giants. “But at the end of the day, I’ve enjoyed my six years here as a Giant. I’ve enjoyed my teammates here. I enjoy working with the people in this building. Obviously, we haven’t won as many games as I would have liked and all that type of thing. But I believe that we are capable of winning more games in the future. And, honestly, other than that, I really couldn’t tell you much bad about my experience being a Giant. Really, when we get this thing going in the right direction, we start winning, I really couldn’t tell you a bad thing about this place. I understand how, from a football perspective and all of that, people would get there, but, like I say, I evaluated the situations that were out there. And from both a football and a life perspective, I felt like remaining a Giant was the best for me.”
Since Slayton joined the Giants as a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, New York has a 32-67-1 regular-season record and is coming off the worst mark during that span at 3-14 in 2024.
“I think it’s kind of like when people say the devil you know versus the one you don’t,” Slayton said. “I feel like we have a good offense here. We have a lot of talent around me in the receiving room. Our running backs are really talented. And I think up front we’ve gotten a lot better up front. Right now, we’re obviously trying to fill that quarterback role. But I think when you look at it, we have a lot of potential. Obviously, potential doesn’t win you games, but it certainly helps.”
Slayton stayed with New York for a three-year, $36 million contract that included $22 million in guaranteed money. In Slayton’s previous six seasons, the Giants paid the wide receiver $15.6 million.
For the NFL Player Association’s 2024 Alan Page Community Award winner, the new contract means security and a greater ability to help others.
“Means a lot seeing how I spent six years not on this side of the coin,” Slayton said. “It definitely means a lot. Honestly, first thing that comes to mind I think of my family. I have an organization my mom runs and a couple other people that run it. And they’ve touched so many lives over the past four or five years. Obviously, the more money I make, the more money we have to give. So, on my end, we just doubled our ability to reach people and touch people. And I think anybody in my situation or anybody even if you just made it to the league for the first time, I think it’s important that once you get the ability to reach out and help, you should help. And you should do it to the best of your ability to support people that need your support.”
In 92 NFL regular-season games, Slayton has 259 receptions for 3,897 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has led the Giants in receiving yards in four of his six seasons with the team.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.