The New York Giants made a contract mistake that is becoming even more glaring as we get deeper into training camp.
The New York Giants have a few position battles going on in training camp, and one of the most interesting is definitely at wide receiver.
Malik Nabers appears to be trending toward playing in Week 1, which is a tremendous sign. Meanwhile, rookie Malachi Fields might already be staking his claim to the WR2 role, which is certainly a pleasant surprise.
The rest of the Giants receivers are battling it out for playing time, and it seems as if one regular is beginning to fall behind: Darius Slayton.
Slayton has been with New York since being drafted by the franchise in 2019, and given that he was a fifth-round pick, he has certainly been a nice success story.
But his time as a top contributor within the Giants offense may be coming to a close.
New York re-signed Slayton on a three-year, $36 million contract in March 2025, a deal that was largely frowned upon at the time. Twelve million annually was definitely a lot for Slayton, who has only been a decent — not very good — receiver.
That was on full display last year, when Slayton endured a drop-ridden campaign that was arguably the worst season of his career.
New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton. Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images.The Giants have a new coaching regime in charge now, and John Harbaugh has also taken on a role as a quasi-executive. He obviously wants to put his fingerprints on the roster moving forward, and that could mean bad news for Slayton.
New York signed Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III in free agency. It also added Odell Beckham Jr. and JuJu Smith-Schuster. There is a whole lot of competition at wide receiver, and Slayton appears to be losing out.
Nabers is looking good. Fields has been incredibly impressive. Beckham is working his way up the depth chart and is stating a clear case to make the 53-man roster.
Then, there's Slayton, who is coming off of core muscle surgery and has not made a significant impact thus far this summer.
If we're being honest, the Giants should have never signed Slayton to that three-year extension to begin with. That isn't to say they shouldn't have attempted to retain the 29-year-old, but did they really have to give him $12 million per year?
Fortunately for Big Blue, there is an out in Slayton's contract after 2026, so New York can simply cut ties with the veteran if things don't go well this fall.
That appears to be the most probable path for the Giants to end a pact that seemed doomed from the start.
