Darius Slayton back at Giants OTAs with adjusted contract: 'I'm satisfied'

Darius Slayton was back on the field with the Giants for Thursday's organized team activities. 

He returned to the team Tuesday after staying away from the voluntary workouts this spring. The wide receiver had sought an adjustment to his contract.

“I'm satisfied,” Slayton, 27, said at the OTAs, which were open to reporters. “We got what we needed to get done. Just looking forward to getting back to playing ball.”

Giants coach Brian Daboll was pleased to see Slayton back. 

“Yeah, we have [had] good attendance. It's good for him to be back," he said. "Again, it's voluntary, so glad he decided to come.”

Slayton, entering his sixth season (all with the Giants), stayed away from the team until Tuesday after incentives were added to his contract.

According to ESPN, Slayton now has a chance to earn an additional $650,000 in incentives. Slayton has been the Giants' leading receiver in four of the past five seasons and is due $6.2 million before incentives this season.

"We just adjusted my contract this year a little bit,” Slayton said. “Just tried to make it a little bit more lucrative. Business is business, and I'm here."

With Saquon Barkley now in Philadelphia, Slayton likely becomes the de facto spokesman for the offense, other than the quarterback position. And he returns to a position group that now includes Malik Nabers, the first-round pick out of LSU.

"Glad Darius is back," assistant general manager Brandon Brown said Thursday. “And when you look at the totality of the message it sends to the locker room, everyone knows there is a difference between the personal and the professional and not blending how you feel about the person. We all love Darius. Sometimes there are disagreements between families and you find a way to find common ground and you move forward. We're happy that he's here and we're happy to keep moving forward with him. He's back like he never left.”

Last season, Slayton provided some bright spots on an offense that struggled. He had 50 catches for a team-leading 770 yards and four touchdowns. 

The Giants averaged 15.6 points per game. Only the Patriots and Panthers, both at 13.9, averaged fewer points.

By adding Nabers, the Giants will hope to have a more explosive offense. The Giants haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr., in 2018.

Over the past few years, the Giants have drafted Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt and now Nabers.

“I try to just live in the moment, live in this year, enjoying my time with them, enjoying my time around them,” said Slayton, who has totaled at least 724 yards in four of his five seasons. “Who knows what the future holds? I can't know it, anyway. So, I just try to be my best day in and day out.”

When it comes to compensation, Slayton has been down this road before. In 2022, he took a pay cut and over-delivered to meet incentives. He may believe he can do so again.

“Sure, I definitely look forward to it, but receivers are a position of opportunity,” he said. “All I can do is do the best of my ability with the opportunities I get, and hopefully, that will prove again I am who I think I am.”

Slayton said he doesn’t worry about getting his opportunities.

“There are multiple receivers on the field,” he said, using the Miami Dolphins' speedy 1-2 punch as an example. "You've got Tyreek [Hill] and Jaylen [Waddle] as teammates. They both get a thousand [yards]. There's a bunch of receiver tandems, even trios, in the league, that all have a chance to feed and get the ball. At the end of the day, it's on the coaches to kind of distribute the ball and get it to the guys they feel do the best with it in their hands. My job is to be one of those best guys.”

Olszewski injured?

Gunner Olszewski appeared to be injured during drills. The wide receiver and return man had a significant limp after slipping on a route. The injury appeared to be to his left foot or ankle. Olszewski threw his gloves to the ground and was attended to by medical staff. He was able to walk into the facility, where he was further examined.

Lawrence new No. 1?

Dexter Lawrence was asked about former Los Angeles Rams great Aaron Donald’s offseason retirement and if he  could now be the best defensive tackle in the league. “Yeah, it could be,” he said. “I've just got to keep working, working on my weaknesses and getting better with my strengths.” He added that Donald’s retirement “took me by surprise, and there probably won’t be another one like him.”

Extra points

In his sixth season, backup quarterback Drew Lock is finally playing for an offensive-minded coach. "It's been fun to have him in my headset. You can tell he's been doing it for a long time," Lock said of Daboll. "Great reminders, and good tips, but not too much. Not too much to get you bogged down on what he just said. It's just good tips and reminders. The offense, there's a lot to it, but it's been fun to learn, and I can see how you can be really successful in it.” . . . Center John Michael Schmitz on new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo: "Coach Carm has been a great addition to the O-line room. He has a great amount of knowledge of the game and has helped every single one of us out to be better players and holds us to a high standard each and every day.”

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.