New York Giants Azeez Ojulari, Darius Slayton talk about their looming NFL free agency

The season is over for the New York Giants, but it’s still a busy news day.

The 2025 offseason promises to be one of the most pivotal in team history as they embark on a true rebuild for the first time in decades. John Mara announced Monday morning that the team is retaining Joe Schoen as general manager and Brian Daboll as head coach.

For better or worse, those two men will be guiding the rebuild and crafting the 2025 Giants.

The first step in the process will be creating a plan of attack — ideally that’s already happened — and making decisions regarding their offensive and defensive coordinator positions. After that, the team will look toward free agency to begin their rebuild.

The two biggest dominoes inside the Giants’ locker room are edge defender Azeez Ojulari and receiver Darius Slayton.

For his part, Ojulari has said that he wants to be on the field more.

Ojulari was relegated to a rotational role by the arrival of Brian Burns, but reminded everyone of his impact as a pass rusher while Kayvon Thibodeaux was on the injured reserve. He had 5.0 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, and 5 tackles for a loss against the Bengals, Eagles, and Steelers in October.

He’s said that he’s prioritizing the “best situation” for him. Ojulari added that he’s certainly open to returning, saying “If it’s here, it’s here. I don’t know yet. Whatever’s the best situation to help the team win, to come in contribute and play, that’s it for me.”

That situation could depend heavily on what the Giants do at defensive coordinator. The Giants could well decide to move on from Shane Bowen and look to hire a more aggressive defensive coordinator. If so, a scheme that prioritizes rotating personnel and bringing pressure could be attractive to Ojulari.

The bigger question is how much attention Ojulari will attract around the NFL. Teams are always willing to pay pass rushers, and it’s unclear whether Ojulari’s injury concerns will be a factor.

Veteran receiver Darius Slayton was similarly ambivalent when asked about his free agency, saying “We’ll see. Obviously I have to talk to my agent, talk to my team, and they’ll communicate with Joe [Schoen], and we’ll see how that pans out.”

Slayton was also asked about Daboll and Schoen being retained, and said that he believes they “deserve a chance to get their quarterback in here.”

Slayton also mentioned stability at the quarterback position as one of the biggest needs for the Giants going forward.

Slayton would also be a useful piece to bring back. He’s been a productive receiver for the Giants and a strong presence in the locker room. Likewise, his speed would be an asset if the Giants want to build a more explosive offense around a new quarterback.

He will probably have a market around the NFL, but might also not be terribly expensive if he wants to remain a Giant.

The good news is that Giants don’t have many free agents of their own.

Veterans like Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Bobby Okereke are still under contract. Promising rookies like Malik Nabers, Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips, and Tyrone Tracy are cheap and under contract for at least the next three seasons. All told, the Giants don’t have many players to retain.

They really only have to make decisions on Ojulari and Slayton.