Colts To Sign WR Darius Slayton

An aggravation of Pierce’s heel injury — one that required offseason surgery — will likely lead to an IR placement. Although Pierce is not planning to undergo another surgery, a midseason return looks like the best-case scenario. The Colts, who already added a receiver reinforcement in Keenan Allen last month, will take advantage of Slayton’s availability to help a receiving corps that has undergone significant changes over the past 10 months.

The Colts entered last season with strong receiver depth, running out a group including Pierce, Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Adonai Mitchell to go with tight end Tyler Warren. After trades involving Mitchell and Pittman and Pierce’s setback, the Colts entered Monday depleted at a recent position of strength.

Slayton, 29, will be poised to join Allen in complementing Downs and Warren. While Downs and Allen excel in the slot, Slayton has done his best work as a perimeter wideout — and a key connection ties him to this Colts offense.

This deal will reunite Slayton with his primary NFL quarterback. The Giants drafted both Slayton and Daniel Jones in 2019, and as their receiver setup featured continued disappointment, the QB could rely on the former fifth-round pick. Slayton paced the Giants in receiving yardage four times during Jones’ tenure. The two established a strong rapport in New York, and after the John Harbaugh regime’s first offseason in charge included a late-summer Slayton cut, the reunion could be pivotal to Indianapolis’ chances of keeping contention hopes afloat.

The Colts pushed the Chiefs to the precipice of a tie Sunday night with Downs and Warren leading the way as Jones’ top targets (with a surprise contribution from 11th-year journeyman Laquon Treadwell). Indy will aim to have Slayton ready soon. Unlike Allen, Slayton does not have a history with Shane Steichen. His Jones past, though, will certainly be important here. The Colts have dropped to 0-2 in a rather important year for Steichen and GM Chris Ballard.

Although the Giants carried Slayton on their roster past cutdown day, they moved on despite a notable dead money hit. The team’s three-year, $36MM deal during the 2025 free agency period brought $22MM guaranteed at signing. The Giants added third-round pick Malachi Fields to go with Odell Beckham Jr. and Darnell Mooney in free agency. It did not seem Slayton had a clear role in New York after these moves, and after a trade effort failed, Big Blue moved on from its longest-tenured player.

Cutting Slayton after June 1, the Giants split up a $15.99MM dead money sum between this year’s payroll and 2027. Slayton counts $12.99MM against New York’s 2026 cap. A Colts deal will reduce that number, bringing offset language into the equation. Seeing as Slayton had most of his 2026 salary guaranteed, this will allow the Colts a likely discount — a la the Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa post-release landings this year. This is a much lower-profile move, obviously, but it will bring a proven receiving option in his 20s to Indiana at a time of need.

Slayton produced four 700-plus-yard receiving seasons from 2019-23. While he represented an underqualified No. 1 option in New York during that span, Jones relied on him frequently. The Giants had seen Sterling Shepard battle injuries, and their Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney additions failed. Slayton, who accepted a pay cut to stay with the Giants in the Brian Daboll-Joe Schoen regime’s first year, helped bail out the team.

The 2022 Giants featured Slayton produce 724 receiving yards, and the Auburn alum’s 88-yard wild-card showing helped the team to a surprising divisional-round appearance. After a career-high 770 yards in 2023, Slayton came in at 573 in 2024 — a season that included the Giants’ in-season Jones separation. The ’24 season still gave Slayton a nice market. Our 2025 free agent list ranked the veteran 26th.

Finishing with 538 receiving yards in Jaxson Dart’s rookie year, Slayton missed three games last season and underwent core muscle surgery earlier this year. A Colts team that extended Jones on a two-year, $88MM deal is carrying a clear win-now mandate from ownership. Committed to Jones through at least 2027, the Colts will hope Slayton can help round out a receiving attack that had featured key Treadwell usage Sunday night (the former first-round pick had not caught a pass since 2023 prior to his three-grab Week 2 showing.