Q. How did you balance the thought of, you know what, maybe a change of scenery is good for me versus I want to come back to the Giants?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I think that's what free agency is all about. It gives you a chance to sit back and reflect and be able to look at what are opportunities you have out there and look at other teams, as well as evaluate the team and the organization you're already a part of, been a part of for some time. When I went through the process I ended up being a Giant and happy to still be a Giant.
Q. Did you ever waiver with that, that somebody else looks pretty good out there?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Yes, I think free agency, that's what it's about. You have other teams that show interest and you look at those situations and you try to weigh the two things. And obviously after I got done weighing them all I decided to remain a Giant.
Q. Obviously you're coming back to a team without a number one quarterback. You signed obviously with that knowledge. What did they tell you at that time about their plan?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Obviously in free agency that's pretty important as a receiver -- to know who is going to be throwing the ball. Me, Dave and Joe had those discussions and I believe in the vision they have (indiscernible) and that they're going to get somebody in here that's going to be able to spin it and be able to lead us in the right direction.
Q. Now that you are back, are you going to be doing any recruiting? I know Russell Wilson might be visiting. What would be your pitch to a quarterback? Will you be involved in that process?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I would love to. If they want to be a part of it wherever it might be. I'd love to be part of that process obviously. I'm all about doing any good football players here but I'm certainly about getting good football players here to throw the ball. Whatever I can do to help that initiative I'll be a part of.
And honestly I would just tell them, look, we have a lot of young, talented players, specifically pass catchers. I think we're a very quarterback-friendly unit. I think for a veteran quarterback or a young quarterback, either way they'd be coming into a good situation, good players.
And we've got two great tackles so you're safe. The left tackle is one of the best in the league. The right tackle is one of the best right tackles in the league. You're safe. We've got weapons. I think any quarterback should look at this situation as the sky's the limit.
Q. What do you think makes Russell Wilson a good quarterback? And what would be the advantages of playing with him as a wide receiver?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Selfishly I think he's been career noted as having a great deep ball. I love that, of course. Other than that, he's somebody who has won in this league. He's played well in this league for a long time. Played well last year for the Steelers, so he still has gas in the tank. We'll embrace him, do our best to rally around him.
Q. Are you following the minute to minute of these quarterback decisions like everybody else is? Are you seeing the pictures on the beach? Is it something that's on your phone like minute to minute here?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I don't have locations on but you can't get on Twitter without seeing the updates. I've seen them and I follow them. But at the end of the day, like I said, I don't made the decision for who becomes the guy, but I do make the decision to support the guy and play the best to my ability for the guy whoever gets here.
Q. When the news came out that you were re-signing, I'll speak for myself, it was shock. Not that it was a bad thing. I think it was a positive thing. For you, throughout this process, how did you ride the wave of emotions, the idea of I'm going to be back, I'm not going to be back. I know it's natural for free agency and you've been through it before, but were you surprised at all that the reaction from people who knew you and around the league was, man, I can't believe Slayton's re-signing with the Giants?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I figured it would be that way if I did decide to come back here, and I understand why people would be surprised. But at the end of the day, I've enjoyed my six years here as a Giant. I've enjoyed my teammates here. I enjoy working with the people in this building.
Obviously we haven't won as many games as I would have liked and all that type of thing. But I believe that we are capable of winning more games in the future. And honestly other than that, I couldn't tell you much bad about my experience being a Giant.
Really, when we get this thing going in the right direction, we start winning, I really couldn't tell you a bad thing about this place.
I understand how, from a football perspective, people would get there. But like I say, I evaluated the situations that were out there. And from both a football and a life perspective, I felt like being a Giant was the best for me.
Q. Did you find yourself as a pitch man? I know you made a pitch before about the quarterback and why guys would come here. There was a feeling going into free agency of looking at the bigger picture and guys around the league see the Giants as a last resort. Why shouldn't this be viewed as a last resort? Because you're the guy that lived through the bad times that were supposed to chase guys away, yet you welcomed coming back?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I think because when you're part of an organization like the Giants that's storied, that's established, your ceiling for a career is so high here. This offseason we signed Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland -- two big-time defensive back signings -- if you're a guy like that and you think about it, they came from the Saints and came from the Dolphins, they're both really good football players, but relatively underrated in the league. They're better football players than people give them credit for.
But if they come out here this year and they have a great year for the Giants they'll become top five names in their position. That's just kind of the reality of playing for the Giants and having you guys, the media behind you and having all that behind you.
And I think anytime -- you can't understate that because that helps add longevity to your career and helps add money to your pocket, whether it be in marketing or whatever. I think the Giants always going to be an attractive place to come.
And also it's a great football place. There are people in this place that love football, that care about the football. Obviously Mr. Mara owns the team. He's got football in his blood and DNA. And at the end of day, if you're a football player, you want to be around football people.
Q. You said before that we roast out the quarterback position and that being unsettled. How much of your decision weighed in your familiarity with your offense, your belief in the offense and what this offense can eventually be?
DARIUS SLAYTON: A lot. I think it's kind of like when people say the devil you know versus the one you don't. We have a good offense here. We have a lot of talent around me in the receiving room.
The running backs really talented. And I think up front we've got ten a lot better up front. Right now we're obviously trying to fill that quarterback role.
But I think when you look at it, we have a lot of potential. Obviously potential doesn't win you games but it certainly helps. There's other times where your potential is low or your roster is not as good. I think those things make it attractive to be a giant.
Q. Last year, of course, was your first year with Malik coming in. Can you talk about the potential growth of this receiver group, Malik, yourself, Wan'Dale, Jalin and just you guys haven't hit the ceiling yet. What do you see as being the next step for you guys as far as your growth goes?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Obviously becoming one of the better receiver units in the league. I think we definitely have the ability to be in that echelon, considered one of the best receiving units in the NFL. And obviously you've got to have -- get it to you to get there.
But that's something I don't take for granted. I love the guys in the room -- Wan'Dale, Jalin and Malik and even some of the other guys we had, Ihmir, (indiscernible) guys. We had a lot of young guys, a lot of just good people to be around, Bryce Ford-Wheaton.
I'm excited to be back in the room with those guys. I had a lot of fun with them last year. And looking forward to the years to come with them.
Q. Have you had a chance to look at -- once you signed one of the first things I did I looked at the Giants record book. If you're going to be here another three years then we've got to start talking about legacy. You could be like second to Amani Toomer in Giants receiving yards with three of your standard seasons. Have you thought about that at all? Did you think at all about where you could be as far as Giants all-timer?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Honestly, I hadn't thought about it but somebody sent it to me. It almost didn't read right in my head. I was like, dang, I didn't realize it was actually something that was that attainable. I felt like Toomer's numbers were way over there in Pennsylvania or something.
It's definitely something that would be cool. I think everybody wants to end their career and feel like they left an impact on wherever they played for and have a positive memory of them wherever they played. So obviously my next three years, I'm going to do my best to play my best and leave fans with a positive image of Darius Slayton in mind.
Q. You answered Russell Wilson. So I'll ask Aaron Rodgers. What about the thought of playing with maybe the best quarterback this side of Tom Brady in this generation?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Personally I think Aaron Rodgers is probably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, just pure thrower of the ball, to ever play football. I have a ton of respect for him.
And I know (indiscernible) everybody loves in this league, once you get a little older, it happens to everybody, like, he doesn't have it or whatever. But Aaron Rodgers has shown he can still spin it.
I think, like I said, we have all the tools to make a quarterback like him or any veteran or rookie successful.
Obviously if we get him, I'd love to play with him. It's not often in this league you get a chance to play with a Hall of Fame, all-time quarterback. I had the pleasure of playing with one my rookie year, and I think being able to play with two in a career is definitely not a blessing that I understate.
Q. About the contract, obviously pass issues, there were issues as far as you know, the pay cut and you not playing in workouts, I believe, last year. What's that security mean for you to have that security to know that you can just focus on ball and that's something that's not going to be a concern for you going forward?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Means a lot seeings how I spent six years not on this side of the coin. It definitely means a lot. Honestly, first thing that comes to mind I think of my family. I have an organization my mom runs and a couple other people that run it. And they've touched so many lives over the past four or five years. Obviously the more money I make, the more money we have to give.
So on my end we just doubled our ability to reach people and touch people. And I think anybody in my situation or anybody even if you just meet for the first time I think it's important that once you get the ability to reach out and help you should help. And you should do it to the best of your ability to support people that need your support.
Obviously as far as the money aspect goes, that's kind of the biggest thing. Obviously I want to live a nice quality of life when I'm done playing football. But that's definitely something that's really important to me.
Q. We all know the numbers from last year, the rankings, the offensive production and everything that needed to get better. This is a team that has brought back most of tis offensive coaching staff in the same position. You're going to have 10 of 11 returning starters, probably. I know there's still time, free agency here in the draft. But there's just that one quarterback. What made you look at last year and say, we are a quarterback away from being successful?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I think the fact that we still played some competitive games. We were still close in some games. In this league, you're typically a play or two or three away -- even if the score might end up being a three-score game, you're typically a play or two away from it being a close or a win.
Oftentimes there's too much blame placed on the quarterback, and sometimes there's too much credit placed on the quarterback. But at the end of the day they do touch the ball the most. So if you find yourselves in situations as a team the belief is if you get somebody back there and they make the right decisions on a consistent basis, that the wins will come.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports