Exclusive | Darius Slaytons Giants tenure could be over despite $36 million contract

The longest-tenured Giants player might be on the way out.Darius Slayton might not make the cut, The Post has learned.Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.

All summer, it was assumed Slayton would be on the roster, even though he clearly was not moving the same following surgery to repair a sports hernia.What seemed to protect his place on the team was that he was entering the second year of a three-year, $36 million contract and parting ways with him would be onerous to the Giants’ salary cap.Well, financial considerations are not going to save Slayton.If the decision is made that at this point, he cannot contribute to the offense the way John Harbaugh and the new coaching staff envisioned, he will be among the cuts this weekend as the Giants get down to the 53-player limit.It was not a good sign for Slayton that Friday night, in the third and final preseason game, not only did he start but he also was on the field in the second quarter, when backup quarterback Jameis Winston had given way to third-string Brandon Allen.Harbaugh played it cautiously with almost all of his starters, keeping them on the sideline, but Slayton received a full workload alongside many players who will not be on the squad.He was on the field for 33 snaps on offense, the same as Odell Beckham Jr., right behind the top-usage wide receivers, Dalen Cambre and Isaiah Hodgins, with 33 snaps apiece.Slayton had no receptions and was not targeted by either Winston or Allen.

Xavier Gipson, who has special teams value (Slayton does not) played 25 snaps and had a 37-yard touchdown catch.Slayton’s base salary for 2026 is $12.5 million and his salary cap hit is a bloated $15.9 million.The guaranteed money for this season is $9.7 million and if he is released, the Giants save $3.167 million in non-guaranteed salary, according to OverTheCap.com.That would leave a dead cap hit of between $9 and $12 million and that could be dec...