Seven years, then the door
No one had been around longer. Darius Slayton was released by the New York Giants on Monday, six days before the first game of the season. He was the longest-serving player on the roster.
His response came on X, with no obvious bitterness. “Grateful for my time in New York. Seven years a Giant, nothing but love for one of the NFL’s most respected organizations. Excited for what’s next.”
He was heading into his eighth season in New Jersey. A fifth-round pick in 2019, he played 106 games in the jersey, with 78 starts. Three head coaches came and went during that spell: Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, Brian Daboll.
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Six days. That is all the notice he got
The sting is in the timing. Slayton had just told the Trentonian how fired up he was about what new head coach John Harbaugh was putting together in New York.
“I think we’ve been well prepared,” he told the paper. “I think we’ve been well acclimated, conditioned to be able to play football. And I think our mindset and the mentality we’ve taken with the coach, he’s done a good job of putting his stamp on this team. I think that’ll show during the season.”
It will show without him. The Harbaugh era starts Sunday against Dallas with four receivers on the active roster: third-year man Malik Nabers, free-agent arrival Darnell Mooney, third-round rookie Malachi Fields and Odell Beckham Jr.
$2.5 million, and a roster spot
Slayton, 29, signed a three-year, $36 million deal last year. Cutting him now saves the franchise $2.5 million, according to multiple reports. Set against the original commitment, that is loose change.
His 2025 line explains part of it: 14 games, 12 starts, 37 catches, 538 yards, one touchdown. Career totals sit at 296 receptions, 4,435 yards and 22 scores.
A receiver with that production will not sit on the market long.
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