‘I chose to be here’

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen told reporters this spring that trading wide receiver Darius Slayton “was never an option.” Instead, they added incentives to his contract, ending a very short-lived holdout.

Despite that, NFL analysts had and continue to list Slayton as a potential trade candidate. And perhaps that’s because there are interested parties out there.

Slayton revealed to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News that several teams have been interested in trading for him over the years but he ultimately chose to return to the Giants.

“People wanted to trade for me,” Slayton said. “People don’t trade for bad players, or people don’t trade for people who haven’t played good ball in this league. So it’s not like I couldn’t have been elsewhere. I just chose to be here.

“At the end of the day, that means something. I know who I am. I know what I’ve done. I know the caliber of player that I am, and hopefully I get a chance to show that this year.”

Slayton has been the Giants’ most consistent receiver since he arrived on the scene as a fifth-round pick in 2019. In four of his five seasons, he’s posted 720-plus yards and two-plus touchdowns.

In each of those seasons, Slayton led the Giants in receiving.

This year, things will change for the veteran. The Giants have a slew of young receiving talent, including first-round pick Malik Nabers, who has displayed explosive traits in practice.

Despite the presence of Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt, Slayton has no plans to slide down the depth chart.

“I’m six years in, and I’ve only been here for six years. So there’s a wealth of game and practice data analytics on me as a Giant, versus Malik’s been here all of a couple months, Jalin’s been here one season. Wan’dale’s been here really, technically one season because he got hurt,” Slayton said.

The Giants seem intent on Slayton having a significant offensive role, so it will be interesting to see how they divvy up the pie.