WR Darius Slayton Expects To Remain With Giants
Darius Slayton has long been floated as a trade candidate, and he could draw interest as an expiring contract ahead of the 2024 deadline. The veteran wideout does not anticipate being moved by the Giants over the coming weeks, however. 
“It’s not the first time in my career I’ve been a trade deadline topic,” the 27-year-old said (via Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com). “It’s probably like the third or fourth time. It’s nothing I haven’t been through before. Obviously all those other times, I still remained here. As for now, I expect that to happen once again — that I’ll be here.”
The 2024 offseason resulted in a short-lived contract dispute between team and player in this case. Slayton was absent from spring practices while attempting to land a new or revised contract. He and the Giants ultimately agreed to a restructure carrying incentives for the 2024 campaign. While New York did not give thought to moving on from Slayton, a deal would not have come as a surprise to the former fifth-rounder.
Slayton’s role in the Giants’ offense was a talking point during the summer, and he would have been on board with a change of scenery if the team planned to lessen his workload in 2024. Instead, Slayton has logged a snap share of 81% this season, remaining a top option in the passing attack. Given the heavy reliance on first-round rookie Malik Nabers, though, Slayton has only received 15 targets through four games. That has resulted in 10 catches for 122 scoreless yards, although a larger role could await him if Nabers’ concussion keeps him out of the lineup in Week 5.
Jalin Hyatt spent the offseason competing with Slayton for a starting spot alongside Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson. Hyatt impressed during training camp, but he has been confirmed to backup duties so far this year. In spite of that, and a reported expression in frustration during the summer, the Giants are not looking to move the 2023 third-rounder. Both Hyatt and Slayton are likely to remain in place for the time being, although New York could adopt a seller’s approach toward the trade deadline depending on the team’s record.
Slayton changed agents in August, a notable move considering 2024 represents a walk year. Strong production from the Auburn product (who led the Giants in receiving during four of his first five years with the team) would help his market value provided he reaches free agency. As things stand, that will be the first time at which joining a new team will be possible.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/24
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Practice window opened: T Christian Jones
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: LB Nathaniel Watson
Green Bay Packers
- Practice window opened: DT Jonathan Ford
Houston Texans
- Practice window opened: DT Kurt Hinish
Las Vegas Raiders
- Practice window opened: S Trey Taylor
New York Giants
- Practice window opened: LB Matthew Adams
Miami Dolphins
- Practice window opened: CB Cam Smith
New England Patriots
- Designated for return from reserve/PUP list: WR Kendrick Bourne, LB Sione Takitaki (story)
- Practice window opened: S Marte Mapu
New York Jets
- Practice window opened: DT Leki Fotu
- Released from IR: LB Brandon Smith
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed to active roster: RB Aaron Shampklin
- Practice window opened: LB Jeremiah Moon
San Francisco 49ers
- Practice window opened: DL Kalia Davis
Seattle Seahawks
- Designated for return from PUP list: DT Cameron Young
Today marks most teams’ first practice before Week 5, making it the first date players stashed on IR as teams set their initial 53-man rosters can work out again with their teams. This year’s IR tweak allowed teams to designate up to two players for return August 27, the catch being all players who receive that designation count toward their respective club’s eight-activation total. The batch included in today’s minor moves post consists entirely of players to receive that August IR-return designation.
The IR-return window is unchanged, however, with teams having 21 days from Wednesday to activate these players. Anyone from today’s group not being activated from IR by October 23 must miss the rest of the season. PFR will keep track of all players returning from IR via the Injured Reserve Return Tracker.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/24
Today’s practice squad updates around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: T Austen Pleasants
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: S Dane Cruikshank
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB William Kwenkeu
- Released: RB John Kelly
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Jackson Mitchell
- Released: CB Azizi Hearn
Chicago Bears
- Released (with injury settlement): DT Sam Roberts
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Salvon Ahmed
- Released: WR Kaden Davis
Houston Texans
- Released: LB Zeke Turner
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: RB Trent Pennix
- Released: K Spencer Shrader
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Jake Funk, CB Tyler Hall
- Released: RB Jalen Jackson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: TE Cole Fotheringham
- Released: S Phalen Sanford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: S Tony Jefferson
- Released: T Braeden Daniels
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: K Tanner Brown
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Jermaine Jackson
- Released: WR John Jiles
New Orleans Saints
- Released: RB Jacob Kibodi
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Kearis Jackson, CB Greg Stroman
- Released (with injury settlement): TE Lawrence Cager
- Released: CB Alex Johnson, TE Joel Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Eku Leota, RB La’Mical Perine
- Released: RB Jack Colletto, LB Marcus Haynes
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: DT Shakel Brown
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: DT Matt Gotel
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Kalen DeLoach
Washington Commanders
- Signed: G Marquis Hayes, S Sheldrick Redwine
The Broncos are bringing in the veteran running back Ahmed after he spent four years in Miami. Ahmed’s biggest role came in four starts as an undrafted rookie back in 2020 in which he rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns over six games. He served as a reliable backup for the Dolphins for the past few years.
The Chargers released Jefferson yesterday, but they’ll keep him around on the practice squad with today’s signing. The veteran adds some quality depth to the roster.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/24
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed from practice squad: OL Will Clapp
- Placed on IR: OL Tylan Grable
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: DE Carl Lawson, CB Amani Oruwariye
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed from practice squad: S Tony Jefferson
New York Giants
- Elevated: FB Jakob Johnson, CB Duke Shelley
Without Adoree’ Jackson and Dru Phillips, the Giants will move Shelley up to their gameday roster. Shelley has not played since last season, attending training camp with the Vikings but landing with the Giants shortly after not making Minnesota’s 53-man roster.
Jefferson played in one game this season as a gameday elevation, but this is his first time on a 53-man roster since the 2022 season. Jefferson had retired, spending the 2023 season as a Ravens scouting intern. At 32, he returned to play under Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers will be without Derwin James against the Chiefs due to a one-game suspension, with Jefferson set to serve as a depth piece in Week 4.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/24
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: OT Germain Ifedi
New England Patriots
- Placed on IR: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (story)
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: LB Ty Summers
After suffering a pectoral injury in Week 2, Ja’Whaun Bentley officially landed on injured reserve today. With the linebacker expected to be sidelined for the rest of the season, the player willingly gave up his captaincy to safety Kyle Dugger, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.
Ty Summers was promoted from the practice squad for each of the Giants’ first three games, so the team had no choice but to sign the linebacker to the active roster. The former seventh-round pick has exclusively played on special teams for the Giants this season, and he hasn’t seen the field for a defensive snap since he was with the Packers in 2021.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/25/24
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Austen Pleasants
- Placed on IR: OT Jackson Barton
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Sam Pinckney
Chicago Bears
- Signed: DB Ameer Speed
- Released: DB Ro Torrence
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OT Sebastian Gutierrez, OT Ricky Lee III, DE Elerson Smith
- Released: LB Luiji Vilain
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Abraham Beauplan
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Gottlieb Ayedze
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR John Jiles
New York Giants
- Signed: FB Jakob Johnson
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Shakel Brown
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: P Trenton Gill
Trenton Gill has caught on with the Buccaneers practice squad after getting cut by the Broncos back in August. Gill spent the previous two seasons as the Bears full-time punter, with the 25-year-old averaging 46 yards per punt while landing 28.6 percent of his punts inside the 20. As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times notes, this addition is a sign that Bucs punter Jake Camarda may be on the hot seat. The former fourth-round pick is averaging a career-low 39.8 net yards per punt.
Saquon Barkley: Giants Were Not In Play During 2024 Free Agency
With some notable exceptions (Kirk Cousins, Antonio Brown among them), few players have come up more frequently at PFR during a two-year period than Saquon Barkley. The current Eagles running back’s past two offseasons have continued to generate content, especially as Barkley shows vintage form on his new team.
Hard Knocks revived the Giants-Barkley divorce storyline, but the seventh-year back said the 2023 offseason mattered more in the grand scheme. The Giants memorably franchise-tagged Barkley and joined the Raiders and Cowboys in not paying their tagged performer at the July deadline. That set in motion a chain of events that led Barkley to Philadelphia.
HBO’s maiden offseason voyage offered memorable content, including a Barkley phone call with Giants GM Joe Schoen the former did not know was being recorded. Barkley brushed off that component and said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show the Giants were never a true consideration for him this year (video link).
Schoen asked Barkley to allow the Giants an attempt to match an offer he received, but the team’s powwow before this year’s franchise tag application deadline showed little descent when it came to Schoen and assistant GM Brandon Brown‘s preferred strategy of not tagging the veteran RB a second time. The Giants did not circle back and attempt to re-sign Barkley after not tagging him, and the talented back hit the open market (to John Mara‘s chagrin, given where Barkley chose to sign) with a few offers. Barkley’s path out of New York, despite the RB repeatedly indicating he hoped to finish his career there, was set in motion in 2023.
While Barkley jokingly expressed regret Schoen did not alert him of the recorded call, thus negating the RB a chance to play up drama for TV purposes, he revisited to a gripe from last year regarding what he perceived to be Giants-driven reports of the sides’ negotiations. The team had offered Barkley around $13MM per year in the winter of 2023, before re-signing Daniel Jones at the 11th hour and then tagging the more talented player, but dropped the AAV on its final offer before upping the guarantee to around $22MM. Though that was an impressive guarantee on a depressed RB market, the Giants’ proposal ended up short-selling Barkley based on what he received as a free agent. Barkley ended up collecting the $10.1MM franchise tag sum and then securing $26MM guaranteed at signing from the Eagles.
The Texans offered Barkley more than $11MM per year, while the Bears, Chargers and Ravens were in the mix as well. Chicago pivoted to D’Andre Swift, doing so before Barkley committed to Philadelphia, while Los Angeles went with ex-Greg Roman options in Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Houston traded for Joe Mixon, giving the longtime Cincinnati starter $13MM guaranteed at signing, while Baltimore turned steady Derrick Henry rumors into a signing. The Giants were not among the four teams to submit Barkley an offer in March.
The Giants ended up with Devin Singletary at three years and $16MM ($9.5MM guaranteed at signing). Thus far, Barkley has made a big difference for an Eagles offense that has dealt with injuries.
Although a Barkley drop in Week 2 opened the door to a Falcons comeback win, he scored five combined touchdowns in Weeks 1 and 3 to propel the Eagles to wins in Brazil and New Orleans. The 27-year-old back leads the NFL with 351 rushing yards. While Barkley carries significant injury risk, he is off to a strong start after joining Philly hours into the legal tampering period.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/24
Here are Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: LB Joe Evans
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S Alex Cook, Justin Hardee
- Released: OLB Eku Leota
Chicago Bears
- Signed: TE Teagan Quitoriano
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DB Morice Norris
Green Bay Packers
- Released: TE Johnny Lumpkin
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Josiah Bronson, DE Derek Rivers
- Placed on IR: QB Jason Bean
- Released: CB Kelvin Joseph
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released: TE Luke Benson, CB Nehemiah Shelton
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR John Jiles
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Joel Wilson
- Placed on IR: TE Lawrence Cager
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Brandon Smith
- Released: S Jaylen Key
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR John Ross
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Marcus Haynes
- Released: TE Matt Sokol
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: S Tracy Walker
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Ty Hall, DT Matt Gotel
- Placed on IR: RB George Holani
- Released: S Marquise Blair
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: P Trenton Gill, CB Keenan Isaac
- Released: P Seth Vernon
This year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ Key did not make the Jets’ initial 53-man roster. The 24-year-old was retained via the practice squad, but he did not see any regular season action. Now a free agent, Key will look to latch on with another organization.
Ross signed with the Eagles in May as part of his bid to return to the NFL. The former Combine 40-yard dash record holder was released during roster cutdowns, however, after he was unable to carve out a depth role on offense. Ross will rejoin the team in a bid to provide Philadelphia with a complementary receiving option as the team deals with a number of injuries at the WR spot.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/24
Tuesday’s minor moves around the NFL:
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Stephen Carlson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Tim Patrick
- Placed on IR: DE Marcus Davenport (story)
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Sam Webb
- Placed on IR: S Marcus Epps (story)
New York Giants
- Released: FB Jakob Johnson
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Jack Stoll
- Placed on IR: WR Britain Covey
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted from practice squad: CB James Pierre
- Placed on IR: DB Cory Trice Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: LS Zach Triner
- Placed on IR: LS Evan Deckers
Patrick was among the Broncos’ final roster cuts but he quickly landed a deal with the Lions on their practice squad. Healthy after back-to-back years featuring major injuries, the 30-year-old has twice been a gameday elevation so far this year and logged a 44% offensive snap share. He will aim to remain in a depth role while now permanently on the active roster.
Covey will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks given today’s move. His injury is particularly notable given the fact A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are both injured at the moment, thinning out the team’s receiver room. Covey, 27, received seven targets across the past two games and Philadelphia will need to turn to other options for a complementary role at wideout (along with the return game).
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/24
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: T Jackson Barton, T Charlie Heck
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: RB Chris Collier, CB Ka’dar Hollman
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: DE DeShawn Williams
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: DE Byron Cowart, WR Collin Johnson
- Placed on IR: RB Travis Homer
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: RB Gary Brightwell, TE Blake Whiteheart
- Elevated: CB Tony Brown, TE Geoff Swaim
Dallas Cowboys
- Elevated: DE Carl Lawson, LB Nick Vigil
Detroit Lions
- Elevated: WR Tim Patrick, WR Allen Robinson
Green Bay Packers
- Elevated: QB Sean Clifford, CB Robert Rochell
Houston Texans
- Elevated: RB J.J. Taylor, LB Zeke Turner
Las Vegas Raiders
- Elevated: CB Sam Webb
Los Angeles Chargers
- Elevated: LB Shaquille Quarterman
Los Angeles Rams
- Elevated: TE Nikola Kalinic, WR Xavier Smith
Miami Dolphins
- Signed to active roster: QB Tim Boyle
- Elevated: WR Dee Eskridge, WR Erik Ezukanma
- Placed on IR: WR Grant DuBose
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: OLB Bo Richter, TE Robert Tonyan
New Orleans Saints
- Elevated: LB Isaiah Stalbird
New York Giants
- Elevated: CB Art Green, LB Ty Summers
Philadelphia Eagles
- Elevated: WR Parris Campbell, TE Jack Stoll
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: DL Mike Greene, WR Sterling Shepard
Tennessee Titans
- Elevated: LB Luke Gifford, RB Jabari Small
Players like Hollman, Vigil, Webb, and Quarterman will now be getting called up for the third time this season. The NFL rules limit a practice squad player to three standard gameday elevations per contract. If their teams want to get them into more games in the future, the normal route is for them to be signed to the active roster after this weekend then released/waived and signed to new practice squad deals, starting their three-game count over.
Shy Tuttle‘s foot injury will keep him off the field for Week 3, as the Panthers announced that the defensive tackle has been downgraded from doubtful to out. The Panthers called up Williams to temporarily take the open roster spot. The defensive end started 10 of his 16 appearances for the Panthers last season, and he landed back on Carolina’s practice squad last month after spending the preseason with the Bills.
The Browns announced a handful of moves ahead of their game with the Giants tomorrow. Notably, the team didn’t promote any offensive tackles, which provided some optimism surrounding the availability of their injured tackles. While Jedrick Wills Jr. is expected to play (per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal), Jack Conklin will not (per Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland). Conklin hasn’t played since Week 1 of the 2023 season while recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. He practiced this week and was initially listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, but it sounds like a new hamstring injury is the culprit for his Week 3 absence.
With both Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce set to miss Sunday’s trip to Minnesota, the Texans are bringing up Taylor off the practice squad. Taylor will back up Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale against the Vikings this weekend.