The Pittsburgh Steelers are unlikely to trade for New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton after he added incentives to his deal.
There have been so many names thrown around on the wide receiver trade rumor mill that the Pittsburgh Steelers could look to land, but many of them are not available for trade. Darius Slayton became one of those sleeper candidates as he held a contract dispute with the New York Giants heading into the final season of his deal. However, Slayton showed back up to OTAs last week after a mini holdout with incentives added to his contract.
General manager Joe Schoen added $650K in incentives to Slayton’s deal, enough to draw the veteran wide receiver back to the facility. Slayton seemed to move past any idea of a trade, citing that instead, he is excited to move forward. Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown broke down the process to reach that deal and how the team would move forward in that room.
“One, I’m glad Darius is back. When you look at the totality of the message it sends to the locker room, everyone knows there’s a difference between the personal and the professional and not blending how you feel about the person. We all love Darius. There’s sometimes disagreements between families, but you find a way to find common ground, which we did, and you move forward,” Brown said. “We’re happy that he’s here, and we’re happy to keep moving forward with him. He’s back like he never left.”
Darius Slayton had incentives added to his contract for this season
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) May 30, 2024
He is happy to be back with his teammates and is "ready to go" pic.twitter.com/ffTzLYn9Od
The Steelers have looked to acquire someone and have called about the 49ers wide receivers Courtland Sutton, DK Metcalf, and others, yet no team has given them an option. Slayton was a sleeper option that made for the Steelers. However, with him now likely off the market, the team has turned elsewhere to try to acquire that wide receiver. The free agent market is dry, too, though Michael Thomas remains on the market and would be the flashy name-signing. Steelers general manager Omar Khan did not rule out a move at wide receiver after the NFL Draft but noted nothing was imminent.
“There’s nothing in the works right now. Nothing close to happening,” Khan said. “I can tell you conversations continue, but there’s nothing close to happening.”
