Of the returning players in the wide receiver room, Darius Slayton is the elder statesman, even if he does not feel that way.
“Honestly, no, but ironically I am,’’ Slayton said Thursday after organized team activity practice No. 5 for the Giants. “Probably got a good six, five years of age on these guys now so I guess I am. But I still feel like I’m pretty young.’’
Slayton is 27, young enough to have plenty of career in front of him but old enough to be an authority on the Giants to the likes of rookie Malik Nabers (20), second-year Jalin Hyatt (22) and third-year Wan’Dale Robinson (23).
Slayton has seen so much in his five seasons with the Giants, arriving in the fifth round in the same 2019 draft that produced Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick.
That Slayton is on the field this week is noteworthy.
He stayed away from the voluntary workout program until this week, when he arrived without the new contract he was seeking.
Not a penny more in guaranteed money, a salary increase he wanted and felt he deserved.
“I think anybody does,’’ Slayton said.
To get Slayton to show up, the Giants made an adjustment to the two-year, $12 million deal he signed prior to the 2023 season.
Before this, Slayton’s contract included a total of $1.5 million in money he could earn in incentives in 2024 if he had 70 receptions for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns — all of which would be career highs.
As a sweetener, the Giants agreed to up the ante to $2.15 million in incentives, meaning his staying away from Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the offseason program, plus missing the first three OTAs, got him an additional $650,000 in incentives.
“I’m satisfied,’’ he said. “We got done what we needed to get done and I’m just looking forward to getting back to playing ball. We just adjusted my contract this year a little bit, just try to make it a little more lucrative.’’
Slayton said he did not know if the contract alteration will allow him to collect on the workout bonus of $350,000 he had written into the original deal.
Slayton has already missed significant time in the offseason program.
“I don’t even know because it’s based on a count of these things,’’ he said. “If it is, cool. If not, oh well.’’
Figuring out a statistical platform for Slayton should not be difficult.
In four of his five seasons, he caught between 46-50 passes for between 724-770 yards.
It could be difficult for him to reach those thresholds in 2024, with Nabers expected to be a large part of the offense, Robinson in full health and the anticipated step forward by Hyatt in his second NFL season.
Last season in what was an abysmal showing by the Giants’ passing attack, Slayton led the team with a career-high 770 receiving yards.
In his second practice this spring, Slayton looked like himself, easily getting open on the green grass, hauling in passes and handling the punts that came his way in special teams drills.
He is back and, outwardly, not showing any sort of disillusionment at not getting a new deal.
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“I don’t think there’s anything negative with Darius,’’ assistant general manager Brandon Brown said. “The time here has been voluntary so he doesn’t have to be here. One, glad that he’s back and two, I gave him a big hug this morning.
“When you look at the totality of the message that it sends to the locker room, everyone knows there’s 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 but you find a way to find common ground, which we did and you move forward. He’s back like he never left.’’
Slayton has been through a great deal, with only one winning season in his five with the Giants.
The new regime of general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll asked Slayton to take a pay cut in 2022 and his spot on the roster was far from guaranteed.
He ended up playing in all 16 games and leading the team with 724 receiving yards.
He knows that “receiver is a position of opportunity’’ and that his targets could be down this season, with so much young talent at the position.
“It’s on the coaches to distribute the ball and get it to the guys they feel do the best with it in their hands,’’ Slayton said, “and my job is to be one of those best guys.’’
The greetings he received when he arrived this week made him feel appreciated.
“Kind of tells me I’ve been a good person in the building since I’ve been here.’’ Slayton said. “There’s a lot of good people around here. I’m happy to still be here.’’