The New York Giants are shrouded in uncertainty heading into the offseason. Few can say for sure if general manager Joe Schoen will still be calling the shots in March, or if he’ll have a new head coach and offensive system to appease when scouting free agents.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of unknown as we sit here on December 19. Having said that, if Schoen is retained as GM for the 2025 season, The Athletic’s NYG beat writer Dan Duggan feels confident that veteran wide receiver and impending free agent Darius Slayton will not be.
“Slayton would be the perfect fit in the [middle] tier of [WR2] options in the $10-13 million per year range,” Duggan noted during a December 19 article looking ahead to free agency. “But he may choose a change of scenery after experiencing so much losing during his six years in New York.”
“It’s also been clear at various points over the past three years that he’s not valued highly by Schoen,” the reporter added, relaying that “it’s unlikely the partnership will continue.”
Schoen and Slayton appeared to disagree over the long-time pass-catcher’s contract and overall value to the team this offseason. In the end, the wideout agreed to join his Giants teammates at camp after a mini holdout.
Although Big Blue restructured the final year of Slayton’s old $12 million deal, giving him slightly more incentives, the holdout outcome was a clear win for Schoen. Slayton even switched agencies afterward, seemingly acknowledging that he was not happy with how it all played out despite stating publicly that he was.
Based on all of that, it wouldn’t be surprising if Slayton were to harbor some bitterness toward Schoen — and that could cause both parties to move on.
Darius Slayton Could Still Skip Town Even If Giants Fire Joe Schoen
Duggan made it clear that his article was from the perspective of the Giants retaining Schoen, but even if they didn’t, there’s no guarantee Slayton would return.
If they Giants fire Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll and draft a new quarterback, they’re embarking on another rebuild. Why would Slayton want to be a part of that when he’s entering his age-28 campaign in 2025?
And going one step further, why would a new regime choose to spend money on a player like Slayton, who represents the Giants of old? Typically, new general managers prefer to clean house and build the roster how they see fit.
In all honesty, Slayton’s most likely path to a return could be Daboll. Going into the season, it felt like Schoen set the stage for Daboll to give Jalin Hyatt a real shot at the starting job across from Malik Nabers.
Keep in mind, Schoen traded up to bring in Hyatt.
As we know, however, Slayton has been given the lion’s share of the snap count in 2024 — and Hyatt has barely been utilized. Things like snap share and playing time are typically decided by the coach, unless there’s a mandate from ownership or a GM.
So, while it would appear that Daboll prefers Slayton over Hyatt, it’s less clear if Schoen does too. Either way, a Slayton return feels improbable at best.
If Darius Slayton Walks, Giants Must Replace Him in Free Agency or the Draft
One thing is relatively obvious, the Giants must replace Slayton if he walks in free agency. Hyatt just hasn’t shown enough over his first two years to warrant a starting job without any competition, and if they did hand the former third-round pick a larger role, the depth behind their top three takes a big hit.
Now, Big Blue doesn’t necessarily have to spend big money on a veteran wide receiver. That’s one option — and Duggan listed several alternatives to Slayton within his article — but they could also continue to fill this position in the draft.
That method has had mixed results for the Giants. Nabers looks like a hit, while Hyatt looks like a miss and Wan’Dale Robinson falls somewhere in between, but there are always wide receivers to be had in April.
The preference of veteran versus prospect at WR2 likely depends on whoever’s running the organization in a couple of months.
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