NFL Free Agency: Darius Slayton signs new contract with New York Giants

Darius Slayton has had an uneven NFL career thus far, but the wide receiver who’s shown play-making ability time and time again has a new contract. Slayton signed back with the New York Giants, according to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. Contract details were not reported.

Darius Slayton came into the NFL as a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, selected by the Giants with the No. 171 overall pick. After hauling in 79 receptions for 1,605 yards and 11 touchdowns over three seasons with Auburn, New York hoped he could provide them with some untapped potential at wide receiver.

At times, Slayton looked like a rising star. During his rookie season, he meshed fantastically with Daniel Jones, hauling in 48 receptions for 740 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. However, a mix of nagging injuries, drops and uneven play at quarterback made sure Slayton wouldn’t surpass his rookie season numbers over the following three seasons.

Despite falling out of favor with a new coaching staff at the beginning of last season, Darius Slayton led a depleted Giants’ receiving corps in receiving yards in 2022, catching 46 passes for 724 yards. Moving forward, the former Auburn wide receiver will hope to build on the positives, and take the next step in his career.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.