Throughout the offseason, it seemed as though Darius Slayton may be on his way out of northern New Jersey. The Giants brought in a new front office and coaching staff that did not select Slayton in the draft, and that group selected wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in the second round -- adding him to highly paid Kenny Golladay and last year's first-round pick, Kadarius Toney, in addition to the rehabbing Sterling Shepard.
Slayton seemed like he was the odd man out. Instead, Slayton Wednesday agreed to a pay cut Wednesday that will keep him with the team this season. According to Newsday, Slayton agreed to drop his salary from $2.54 million to just $965,000 -- the league minimum. Slayton does have a chance to earn more money through playing-time incentives, but for now the Giants save approximately $1.6 million against the cap.
Slayton seems somewhat unlikely to meet playing-time incentives barring injury, for the same reasons it seemed like he might be on his way out the door. After a rookie season in which he caught 48 passes for 740 yards and eight touchdowns, Slayton emerged as a starter during his second year and finished with 50 catches for 751 yards and three scores. He took a step backward last season in both playing time (64% of snaps) and production, totaling just 26 receptions for 339 yards and two trips to the end zone.
With a minimum salary it's possible the Giants find a trade partner for Slayton at some point during the regular season, but at least for now, he'll be staying in New York for the beginning of the Brian Daboll era.
