2 Giant Goofballs: A NY Giants Podcast

The Giants moved on from Darius Slayton and gained relatively little immediate cap relief while accepting nearly $13 million in 2026 dead money. The tradeoff is obvious: New York decided the roster spot and Slayton’s reduced role mattered more than keeping its longest-tenured player.
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Why did the Giants release Darius Slayton despite nearly $13 million in dead money? 
This looks much more like a football-role decision than a cap-saving move, with Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, Malachi Fields and Odell Beckham Jr. reshaping the receiver hierarchy.
Drew spends the largest part of the episode on Slayton’s exit and what his seven seasons in New York should actually mean. Slayton finishes his Giants career with 296 receptions, 4,435 yards and 22 touchdowns after arriving as a fifth-round pick. His drops frustrated fans, but his production relative to his draft position and the way he carried himself through years of Giants dysfunction deserve to be part of the conversation too.
Was Slayton really no longer worth the roster spot, or did the Giants become too aggressive six days before Week 1?
The Giants also made two very different long-term commitments around Jaxson Dart. Jameis Winston and Jon Runyan Jr. are now under contract through 2028. Winston gives Dart a veteran backup and mentor the organization clearly values, while Runyan remains part of the offensive line protecting the Giants’ young quarterback.
Joe Schoen also appears to have found the additional veteran defensive lineman he hinted was coming. Jeremy Fowler reported Dean Lowry was expected to join the practice squad, although the Giants had not officially announced the move during the episode. Drew remains far more concerned about the larger issue: whether New York has actually done enough to fix its run defense.
Can this defensive front become the identity of the team if the interior still feels like the biggest weakness?
Dallas will also enter Week 1 without Tyler Smith after the Pro Bowl guard underwent thumb surgery. T.J. Bass is an experienced replacement, but it is still a downgrade the Giants’ defensive front should be looking to exploit.
The Giants continue searching for help at cornerback after working out Jaden Robinson, while Arvell Reese is already being mentioned near the top of the Defensive Rookie of the Year race before playing a regular-season snap. D.J. Reader also brings a simple message into Week 1: “Exit 98’s always closed.”
The episode closes with something completely different: the strange Braxton Berrios, Alix Earle and Margarida Corceiro relationship story making the rounds. There is no confirmation Berrios and Corceiro are dating, but the social-media reaction was bizarre enough to earn a few minutes before the show wrapped.
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Cam Skattebo is back and looks ready to lead the Giants backfield, but his admission that one major injury nearly made him walk away from football changes the risk New York is managing. His violent running style is a huge part of what makes him special, yet protecting him may now matter as much as unleashing him.
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The Big Question: Should the Giants protect Cam Skattebo more after his injury? New York can reduce some of the punishment with Najee Harris, Patrick Ricard and a deeper backfield without asking Skattebo to stop being the physical runner that made him a fan favorite.
The biggest debate of the episode starts with how little faith the rest of the NFL seems to have in the Giants. Mike Sando’s survey of six NFL executives placed New York 14th of 16 NFC teams, Dallas is favored at MetLife, and Jaxson Dart landed on a bottom-10 projected QB1 list. Drew pushes back on the ranking and especially the criticism of Dart’s decision-making after a rookie season with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while still acknowledging that the Giants have not earned the benefit of the doubt yet. Kayvon Thibodeaux saying the team “got a lot better” only sharpens the divide between confidence inside the building and skepticism outside it.
Then Skattebo’s story changes the tone. He told Kay Adams that he had promised himself he would be done after one major injury, and after last season’s dislocated ankle, fractured fibula and ruptured deltoid ligament, he genuinely questioned whether he wanted to keep playing. He ultimately came back, stayed around the team through rehab and now enters Week 1 healthy and in position for a major role. The question is whether the Giants should use Najee Harris and Patrick Ricard to absorb more of the punishment, or whether trying to protect Skattebo too much would strip away what makes him effective.
Drew also revisits Darius Alexander after Chris Pflum’s film review showed both the technical problems and the flashes that keep his developmental upside alive. Greg Newsome’s history with George Pickens adds another layer to Giants-Cowboys, Malik Harrison joins the practice squad in another John Harbaugh reunion, and Ben Barten is released. Evan Neal, Tre Hawkins and Azeez Ojulari all worked out for the Raiders, while quick hits cover Shelby Harris joining SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Giants’ Week 1 stadium plans and the team’s practice break before Monday.
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The Giants can keep improving the roster before Week 1, but every late addition raises a tougher question: why is Joe Schoen still searching after final cuts, especially on the defensive line? That same uncertainty runs through Malik Nabers' return, OBJ's comeback and a cornerback room already talking like one of the NFL's best.
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 Is Joe Schoen simply finishing the Giants roster, or is New York still trying to fix weaknesses that should have been settled before September? The answer is probably some of both, but defensive tackle remains the clearest position where the Giants are still actively looking for another answer.
Schoen said there are "a few players out there that we are targeting or looking at" and said the Giants will probably add another defensive lineman. Drew and Rob debate what that says about a group built around D.J. Reader, Shelby Harris, C.J. Okoye and Darius Alexander after New York allowed 145.3 rushing yards per game in 2025.
How much of the 53-man roster is really fixed? Schoen called the practice squad "truly an extension of the active roster," while John Harbaugh said Braxton Berrios will be treated like a 53-man player and is expected to return punts. The episode also gets into the Giants' two-quarterback strategy and the newest practice-squad additions.
Malik Nabers says he feels good, but he still has boxes to check before committing to Dallas. The debate becomes whether medical clearance is enough if Nabers does not yet completely trust his knee for four quarters of NFL football.
Greg Newsome II then makes the biggest boast of the night by calling the Giants the best cornerback room in football. Drew and Rob put that claim against the actual depth of Newsome, Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks and Dru Phillips — and the Week 1 test waiting from CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Odell Beckham Jr. beat the odds, made the roster and got No. 13 back, but Harbaugh's challenge is the one that matters now: what does OBJ do with the opportunity? The show closes with Jaxson Dart saying he feels in command of the offense, Week 1 health updates, Giants throwback uniform dates and the possibility of Aaron Donald facing New York in Week 2.
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The Giants got through final cuts with depth at running back, tight end and the secondary, but the cost may be leaving some of their biggest questions unresolved. Center remains the clearest concern, while defensive-line and EDGE depth still make this roster feel unfinished.
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Is the Giants’ 53-man roster actually finished?
Not if they are still looking for a potential challenger to John Michael Schmitz and were willing to explore another meaningful defensive-line addition after cutdown.
Drew and Rob go position by position through the initial 53, the practice squad and the players who landed elsewhere. The offense kept Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston on the active roster with Jake Haener returning to the practice squad, while Najee Harris, Devin Singletary, Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. all survived at running back. Add Patrick Ricard and four tight ends, and John Harbaugh’s preference for heavier offensive personnel is easy to see.
But did the Giants protect too much depth in some places while leaving questions elsewhere? At wide receiver, Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Malachi Fields and Odell Beckham Jr. made the 53, while Braxton Berrios, Jalin Hyatt and Dalen Cambre returned on the practice squad. Hyatt clearing waivers and returning became one of the more revealing parts of the cutdown process.
The offensive line creates the biggest concern. John Michael Schmitz remains the starter, Bryan Hudson made the roster and Lucas Patrick was released, yet New York was still reported to be looking for someone capable of challenging Schmitz. Evan Neal was also released, ending the former No. 7 overall pick’s Giants tenure.
On defense, C.J. Okoye made the roster after being acquired from Baltimore, but the Giants also reportedly showed interest in Gervon Dexter before Atlanta completed a trade for him. Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux give the Giants a strong top three on the edge, but the depth behind them remains worth watching.
The final question is the waiver wire. New York had the No. 5 waiver priority and made zero claims. If the Giants still wanted help at center or defensive tackle, was standing pat confidence in the roster—or a missed opportunity before Week 1?
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The Giants can keep Odell Beckham Jr. and sacrifice a roster spot on a veteran who offers little special-teams value, or cut him after he just showed he can still separate and contribute as an NFL receiver. That same gain-versus-sacrifice decision runs through a roster that still has questions at quarterback, defensive tackle and the bottom of the 53.
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Should the Giants keep Odell Beckham Jr.? 
Based on what Drew saw against the Jets, cutting OBJ would now be the more surprising decision after Beckham caught 3 passes for 53 yards and consistently created separation.
The bigger on-air concern was Jaxson Dart. If Dart starts against Dallas, he will have gone 29 days without game action. Drew questions whether the Giants became too conservative with a second-year quarterback learning a new Matt Nagy offense, particularly because Dart never played a preseason game after the full foundational install was completed.
Did protecting Jaxson Dart create another risk? Drew argues that practice cannot fully recreate live game reps and worries that a slow start against Dallas could become especially costly with the Rams waiting in Week 2.
The defensive line created another major concern. The Jets opened the game with a 10-play, 65-yard touchdown drive without attempting a pass, exposing the Giants' interior run defense. New York responded by trading a 2028 seventh-round pick to Baltimore for 6'6", 365-pound defensive tackle C.J. Okoye.
But did the Okoye trade actually fix the problem? John Harbaugh made clear the Giants are still looking for opportunities to improve, and Drew views defensive tackle as the biggest unresolved weakness heading into the final roster decisions.
Trace Ford made those decisions even more difficult with 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, a sack, 2 quarterback hits and 2 passes defensed. Tyrone Tracy Jr. also responded to earlier preseason mistakes with 37 yards and a touchdown on only 4 carries, while Najee Harris finally returned to game action following his Achilles rehab.
Dominic Zvada officially won the kicking job after a perfect preseason. Drew also works through the remaining bubble cases involving Braxton Berrios, Zaire Barnes, Jack Kelly, Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa, Korie Black, Jake Haener, Jameis Winston and Evan Neal.
The roster movement has already started. Ugo Amadi, Damon Bankston, Josiah Deguara, Leki Fotu, Isaiah Hodgins, Brenden Jaimes, Anfernee Orji and Kobe Prentice were released as the Giants began working toward the initial 53.
The preseason is finished. Now the question is which performances actually earned roster spots — and where the Giants still need outside help before Dallas.
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