Giants surprisingly release Nick McCloud after pay cut push

The Giants parted ways with one starter at the NFL trade deadline, but not in the manner that anyone expected. 

General manager Joe Schoen cut cornerback Nick McCloud after he refused to take a pay cut to the league minimum, The Post confirmed, before deciding to hang onto the expiring contracts of receiver Darius Slayton and pass rusher Azeez Ojulari. 

Asking a starter to take an in-season pay cut and then cutting him to save about $1 million is a cutthroat business decision that could resonate in the locker room.

In his third season with the Giants, McCloud was well respected for his willingness to adapt to multiple positions throughout the secondary and remain a punt gunner and core special teamer. 

The Giants (2-7) re-signed McCloud, 26, to the lowest restricted free-agent tender — a one-year, $3 million contract with no guaranteed money — in March but left open the possibility of a pay cut based on performance. 

McCloud won a starting job during training camp, so the Giants did not have the cut-day leverage that worked in the past to get Slayton and cornerback Darnay Holmes to accept reduced salaries.