Giants' Shocking Move Speaks Volumes About Malik Nabers

The New York Giants released Darius Slayton on Monday in a rather stunning turn of events, ending his seven-year tenure with the club.

Slayton was selected by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and has been a fixture in the offense ever since. In fact, he was one of two players on New York's current roster to have caught a pass from Eli Manning, with Odell Beckham Jr. being the other.

However, Slayton is coming off of a brutal 2025 campaign littered with drops and mistakes, and he didn't exactly impress John Harbaugh in training camp.

That being said, Slayton's release comes as a surprise given the fact that the Giants had already lost Calvin Austin III for the season with a torn ACL, and their wide receiver depth wasn't great even with Slayton.

On the surface, it looks like an incredibly odd move. Why cut a generally productive player at a position of need?

Well, to me, this indicates that Malik Nabers is making much more progress than anyone had initially expected.

Nabers tore his ACL and his meniscus last September and hasn't seen meaningful action since. He was limited in camp, and he did not play a preseason game. But he did look sharp during his workouts this summer, and it's looking more and more like the former first-round pick will be available for Week 1.

New York's decision to cut ties with Slayton is a strong sign that the Giants are very happy with Nabers' health and that they anticipate he will have a major role right from the get-go.

Either that, or New York is really high on Dalen Cambre, who was waived by New York on cutdown day and then signed to the team's practice squad.

But it's much more likely that this is a Nabers hint above all else.

Let's face it: Nabers is the engine that makes the Giants' passing game go, and he will be instrumental in Jaxson Dart's development.

While there were some who wondered if we would see Nabers at all during the first half of 2026, that pessimism was shut down when New York opted not to place the 23-year-old on the PUP list before training camp.

There were still some who expressed concern over Nabers' potential availability for the season opener, but I genuinely do not think that the Giants would have released Slayton if there were any doubt that Nabers would play against the Dallas Cowboys.

It's definitely a risky bet by Big Blue, and it does make you even more frustrated by the Giants' refusal to add someone like Deebo Samuel or Keenan Allen this summer. But perhaps things are a bit more positive than many assumed regarding New York's No. 1 receiver.