The New York Giants on Monday made a surprising move and released wide receiver Darius Slayton who was their longest-tenured player. Slayton should be a player on the San Francisco 49ers' radar.
Bolstering the receiving corps should be a priority for the 49ers throughout the season since Mike Evans' health is uncertain and it's unclear just how impactful players like Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson can be in expanded roles. De'Zhaun Stribling is unproven in the regular season, as are Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins. If the 49ers deal with any injury problems in their receiving corps it could derail their passing game.
Slayton, 29, would add much-needed depth and perhaps an upgrade over Robinson and Samuel in the 49ers' receiving corps. The
seven-year veteran caught 296 passes for 4,435 yards and 22 touchdowns in 106 games with the Giants. And his consistency across those seven seasons was remarkable.
In seven years he never had fewer 339 receiving yards in a season, and never more than 770. Even over the last two years as the Giants struggled finding any stability under center he still posted 39 catches for 573 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, and 37 catches for 538 yards and one touchdown last season.
Slayton is almost always available and productive, two things the 49ers receiving corps could use. And with a whopping $45.8 million in available cap space, there wouldn't be any financial hurdles to clear for a receiver who was due $9,749,995 in guaranteed salary with New York this season per Over the Cap.
One major issue blocking a potential Slayton signing is that the 49ers are hoping injured WR Christian Kirk would provide what Slayton does. Although Kirk has neither been as available nor consistently productive as Slayton in the last couple of seasons.
Still, the 49ers have the cap space and the need to add more help at receiver. They should at the very least be on the phone with Slayton's agent to see about getting him in a 49ers uniform by the time they return from their Week 1 trip to Australia.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers should jump on chance to sign recently-released Giants WR
