John Harbaugh on Darius Slayton's release: We do what's in the best interest of the team

Published September 9, 2026 03:54 PM The Giants kept wide receiver Darius Slayton on their initial 53-player roster, but released him on Monday. He was the team’s longest-tenured player, arriving in 2018 as a fifth-round pick.John Harbaugh was asked about the move Wednesday in the coach’s first availability since the roster move.“We always make all of our personnel decisions about what’s best for the team immediately and in the long-term future, what gives us the best chance to be the best team we can be, and that’s the choice we made,” Harbaugh said, via video from Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.Slayton was due $13 million this season, with $9.5 million guaranteed. The Giants saved only $3.161 million by cutting him. Harbaugh was asked why the Giants waited until Monday to release Slayton. “There’s no strategy to it,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a lot of factors. I mean, maybe you can get a trade? Maybe you try to wait as long as you can to see if you can work out a contract change. There are a lot of reasons to it, which I don’t really feel obligated to explain. . . . We did it because it’s the best thing for our team.”Slayton, who has already had teams reach out with interest, finishes seven seasons in New York with 296 catches for 4,435 yards and 22 touchdowns.