NEWSLETTER
Few things have bugged me like the Bears’ inactivity in the wide receiver market.
No, they didn’t need to go over the moon to land Christian Kirk. And I didn’t expect them to trade the farm for someone like Davante Adams or Tyreek Hill. And I don’t even think it’s a great idea to risk it all in a trade for Deebo Samuel. It’s just that there were other mid-tier options that could’ve been brought in, so as not not to put all your eggs in the NFL Draft basket.
But for what it’s worth, there are STILL other ways to acquire receiver help. And while we were exploring one such option with Giants receiver Kadarius Toney representing a most intriguing buy-low trade option, he isn’t the only New York receiver on the block. Teammate Darius Slayton is making the rounds on the rumor mill. And for a most peculiar reason:
Report: Giants looking to trade Darius Slayton. https://t.co/oNkqNH3dns
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 26, 2022
Slayton played well enough in the first three years of his rookie deal to see the salary on the fourth (and final) year balloon from $920,000 to $2.5 million because of bonus escalators. And with that in mind, an already up-against-it Giants team is reportedly shopping Slayton.
New York has just $5,588,274 million in available cap space, which isn’t enough when the team needs somewhere between $12.5 million to $18.6 million in order to sign picks. And I thought Bears GM Ryan Poles was in an unenviable situation taking over for Ryan Pace’s mess. Joe Schoen leaving Buffalo to take over Dave Gettleman’s island of misfit toys is arguably worse.
Naturally, when news like this crosses our wires, I chew on it and consider a potential Bears fit. And while I don’t want to be the guy who suggests the Bears should go after *EVERYONE* whose name hits the rumor mill, this is the type of situation the Bears should be targeting. Using your position having more than $14 million in cap space is a start. But combining that while leveraging another team’s cap crunch to use against them is the kind of bold maneuver I’d love to see Poles make for this team. It would be equal parts bold and cutthroat. Just saying.
Slayton put up 48 catches, 740 yards, and 8 touchdowns in his rookie season with the Giants. Then tacked on a 50-catch, 750-yard, 3 score campaign a year later. An injury shortened 2021 (13 games with a 26-339-2 line) aside, the juice might be worth the squeeze for Slayton. Especially if the cost of doing business is late-round draft capital that vests if certain conditions are met.
Trading for Slayton wouldn’t be a high-profile move. But it would represent a significant upgrade from what the Bears have in their stable. I wonder if Tyke Tolbert, who left the Giants this offseason to take the Bears WRs Coach gig, would sign off on a Slayton trade. Maybe we’ll find out.
