Giants Decide to Stay Put at Trade Deadline

Coming into this Thursday's trade deadline, the Giants had multiple veteran players who were reportedly being shopped around to potential contenders. The likes of Darius Slayton and Azeez Ojulari, in particular, were two individuals expected to garner decent interest throughout the league. Despite these reports, New York elected to hold on to their homegrown talent, even with both of them being in a contract year. The decision to forgo a potential trade for these two players makes sense to me, but only if New York extends both players after this year.

Currently, I see the odds of that beginning to tilt against the team's favor, especially with Darius Slayton. Slayton has led the Giants in receiving in four out of the six years he’s been with the team. However, he’s experienced some of the worst team production in the entire NFL over that span, resulting in only one playoff appearance during that time. It wouldn’t be surprising if Slayton demands a substantial salary from the Giants that may exceed the numbers posted on the stat sheet due to the lackluster situation the team is currently in. To that point, if I were Slayton, I’d do the same. He’s proven to be a great deep threat when given the chance and could make a real impact on a contending team. In my eyes, it would make more sense for him to leave than to stay, unless the team is more than willing to meet his demands. I just don’t know if General Manager Joe Schoen will be all that willing to oblige.

Ojulari has had success with the Giants throughout his career, but he has dealt with numerous injuries that have limited his time on the field. Ojulari had a tremendous rookie season with 8.5 sacks but failed to replicate the same production over the course of two years due to missing 16 games. This season, Ojulari has looked similar to his rookie self, with six sacks recorded through nine weeks. It would make sense for New York to want to extend the 24-year-old pass rusher who has shown such upside in his career. However, with so much invested in Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, it creates an awkward fit for Ojulari. He won’t be a starter in New York next year if things remain the way they are now and is only starting due to Kayvon being injured. He could potentially command a good salary from another team, as well as a bigger role on the field. It depends on the price that Ojulari is seeking at that point in the season, but with the way things stand, things could get messy if it exceeds New York’s expectations.