The New York Giants bulked up their thin receiving corps Thursday by signing Parris Campbell and Darius Slayton, sources told ESPN.
Campbell joins the Giants from the Indianapolis Colts on a one-year deal that can be worth $6.7 million. It has $3 million fully guaranteed. Slayton returns on a two-year, $12 million deal with a maximum value of $16.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Giants wide receivers have gotten younger and faster in recent days with the signings of Campbell and former New York Jets receiver Jeff Smith. Slayton, Campbell and Smith are all 26 years of age or younger and are known as downfield threats.
The Giants desperately needed to bolster the wide receiver position for newly re-signed quarterback Daniel Jones. They cut free agent disappointment Kenny Golladay on Wednesday.
News of the Giants’ deal with Campbell was first reported by theScore.com.
Campbell is the second Colts free agent to sign with the Giants this week. Linebacker Bobby Okereke officially signed with the team Thursday.
Campbell’s entry into free agency came on the heels of the first full season of his career. He appeared in 17 games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 after having never played in more than seven in a season.
His career marred by a litany of injuries, Campbell, 25, was eager to demonstrate what he could do when healthy. He was somewhat limited by the Colts’ quarterback difficulties — Indianapolis started three signal-callers during the 2022 season — but Campbell shattered his career highs with 63 catches for 623 yards.
Campbell was used extensively as a slot receiver with Indianapolis, but his speed gives him the potential to be a target on deeper shots.
A 2019 second-round pick out of Ohio State, Campbell has 97 receptions for 983 yards and five touchdowns over his four NFL seasons. He also has 175 rushing yards.
Slayton, who turned 26 in January, is coming off a season when he was buried deep on the depth chart throughout the summer. He even took a pay cut before the start of the season to remain with the team that drafted him in the fifth round out of Auburn in 2019.
But Slayton eventually earned opportunities this past season thanks to other injuries and ineffectiveness and became the team’s de facto No. 1 receiver. He finished with 46 receptions for a team-high 724 yards and two touchdowns.
Slayton has finished with over 700 yards receiving in three of his four professional years. He also shared the team lead with five drops and is tied for 10th among all receivers with 15 drops since entering the league.
He has 170 catches for 2,554 yards and 15 touchdowns in four NFL seasons.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com