The Giants on Monday released WR Darius Slayton. It's a surprising move but shouldn't come as a total shock. SNY's John Flanigan says Slayton "was said to have been on the bubble ahead of last weekend's roster cutdown." But that Slayton stuck around through that before getting ousted makes it a little stranger. The 29-year-old has been with the team since 2019 and was signed through 2027. The move doesn't appear to save the Giants any money or cap space. That could signal the team feels the need to add a player at another position.
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This move might tell us more about WR Malachi Fields than anyone else.
There's been off-and-on buzz for the third-round rookie, and dumping Slayton likely points to the team either feeling comfy running Fields or Odell Beckham Jr. as the outside starter opposite Malik Nabers.
The Slayton move also might tell us that the Giants believe Nabers' repaired knee is ready for full duty early in the season.
The other factor here is WR Darnell Mooney. He has been mentioned as a slot candidate but played outside more to this point in his career. Perhaps he's the No. 2 early in the season while splitting his time between the inside and outside.
Of course, the lack of clarity makes it difficult to get too excited about any Giants WR beyond Nabers.
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Consider Fields and Mooney basically tied as the top late-round stash of the group. Mooney's obviously a safer bet, with six pro seasons behind him -- three of which have found him exceed 60 catches.
Fields carries the shine of a rookie but also put together a merely OK college career. He finished just one season as his school's reception leader, with his 55-catch 2204 season at Virginia.
Fields sandwiched that between trailing 52 catches behind Malik Washington in 2023 and watching Jordan Faison lead him by 13 catches at Notre Dame last year.
So even if Fields runs second among Giants WRs in playing time, it's tough to bet on big rookie-year numbers.
Beckham's a fun story, but the 33-year-old hasn't exceeded 44 catches in a season since 2019.
Ultimately, the second-best reception bet among Giants (behind Nabers) still looks like TE Isaiah Likely.
