Darius Slayton pushes back against the public perception of him.
Making yet another Giants roster — despite questions swirling over his status — has to mean something.
“Maybe contrary to common belief, some studies would suggest that I have done more good than bad,” Slayton said after practice Tuesday. “Otherwise I probably would’ve been gone with three different people coming here and evaluating me. It is what it is.”
Looking at Slayton’s career is like carbon-dating recent Giants history. He played under Pat Shurmur as a rookie, spent the next two years with Joe Judge as his head coach and then the last four with Brian Daboll at the helm. John Harbaugh and his coaching staff are now Slayton’s fourth since entering the league.
That he has survived all four regimes and maintained a role with the team, Slayton believes, is clear evidence of what he offers.
The Post reported that his spot was in jeopardy ahead of cutdown day Sunday, similar to what he experienced at multiple points throughout his career. But once again, he has done enough to stick with a new regime.
He just keeps on surviving.
“It’s not the first time, probably won’t be the last time,” Slayton said. “But I really don’t pay it too much of mind, honestly.”
There has been an inverse relationship with expectations and Slayton’s performance.
When expectations are low, like being a fifth-round draft pick or after he took a pay cut, Slayton has delivered strong production. But when expectations are high, like after signing his three-year, $36 million deal last year, he has underwhelmed. He was plagued by drops last season and recorded just 538 receiving yards, his fewest since 2021.
It’s meant that Slayton, the longest-tenured Giant, has gotten used to uncertainty over his standing and the need to repeatedly prove his worth.
“That’s mostly kind of been exacerbated by the turnover [in coaching staffs],” Slayton said. “Anytime there’s new people, there’s going to be that. Just for me, I’ve just been fortunate to be here for four staffs. I don’t take it personally. I understand that you have to show and prove yourself whenever there’s new [coaches]. That’s what I plan to do this year.”
Perhaps with expectations again lowered, his production will swing back to the other side of that pendulum.
He did not exactly shine in training camp and the preseason, though. After undergoing sports hernia surgery over the offseason, he acknowledged that he’s “had some bumps along the way” and is not yet back to 100 percent.
But he is entering the second season of that lucrative three-year deal, and cutting him would have left the Giants with a dead cap hit of $12.7 million this year and $3 million next year. Trading him likely would have required the Giants to eat most or all of his salary. And Calvin Austin III tearing his ACL also created an opening on the receiver depth chart.
Slayton did help his own case with four receptions for 58 yards in the team’s second preseason game against the Dolphins.
“That was big,” Harbaugh told The Post after that game. “So big, honestly I needed to see that. Probably other people, everybody probably did. You have to do it every year, you have to come back and keep doing it. He’s been battling through those injuries so to see him step up like that and make those plays was really good.”
With his spot now secured, the conversation turns to his playing time.
After Malik Nabers, the pecking order at receiver is pretty fluid. Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Odell Beckham Jr. and Malachi Fields will all be vying for roles.
“Just another playmaker,” Slayton said of where he fits in with the group. “I feel like we have a bunch in the room, a lot of really talented guys that we’ve added to the roster. I see myself as one of those guys.”
For better or worse, Slayton has been a constant amid all the change around the Giants in recent years.
He’s adamant he still deserves to be here.
