Giants general manager Dave Gettleman says it is always a test for a front office when it has to cut one of its own draft picks. Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur did just that on Saturday, releasing quarterback Kyle Lauletta, who did not survive to see a second season with the team.

The last we saw of Lauletta, a 2018 fourth-round draft pick from Richmond, was his 14-yard touchdown pass to Alonzo Russell as time expired Thursday night, allowing the Giants to complete a 4-0 preseason with a 31-29 victory over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Lauletta played reasonably well in that finale and hoped it was enough to convince the decision-makers that he deserved to be part of a quarterback room that was certain to include Eli Manning and rookie Daniel Jones. As it turned out, there was little, or nothing, Lauletta could do in his final game to remain part of the roster.

So, this goes down as a swing and a miss by Gettleman and Shurmur. A fourth-round pick not seeing a second year is a bad deal. The Giants tried to trade Lauletta before releasing him, but found no takers. Thus, Alex Tanney is in and Lauletta is out at the No. 3 quarterback.

Lauletta wore No. 17 with the Giants, the number Jones wore at Duke. With Lauletta gone, Jones is free to claim his college number with the Giants, if he wants to change from the No. 8 jersey he donned this summer.

It appeared as if Lauletta, 23, at times outplayed Tanney, but Shurmur clearly prefers the 31-year-old, who has bounced around the NFL and has only one regular-season game on his résumé. Lauletta completed 37 of 62 passes for 453 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions this summer. Tanney was 24-of-46 for 322 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

“I said it last week: It’s a credit to Kyle the way he came in here every day and worked to get better and competed after we drafted Daniel,” Shurmur said. “Not every guy would respond that way, and Kyle improved as a result. So there was a lot to consider in that decision, but ultimately we decided to go with Tanney.”

Shurmur values Tanney’s contributions in the meeting rooms. He is a quick study and is able to serve a role during the week as the scout-team quarterback. Tanney’s presence around the team, it seems, was valued more than Lauletta’s youth and potential.

“I’ve always been a fan of his,’’ Shurmur said of Tanney during training camp. “I just think that at the right positions, having a veteran around really helps.”

Tanney worked in training camp as the No. 3 quarterback, with Lauletta getting fourth-team reps, so this release is not much of a surprise.

Lauletta would be eligible for the Giants’ practice squad if he first clears waivers and is not signed by another team. That is an unlikely scenario, however, as the Giants do not need four quarterbacks in the building.

The Giants soured on Lauletta quickly after revealing in late April 2018 they believed he was a decent developmental prospect who had something of an “it’’ factor. Lauletta, as a rookie, was arrested and charged with eluding police and resisting arrest during a late-October traffic incident that the Giants viewed as extremely poor judgment. Lauletta never seemed to recover from that in the minds of the coaching staff and front office.

Lauletta brought the Giants back from a 19-point halftime deficit against the Patriots, but it was not enough to keep him around.

“I feel like I put four solid games together — it wasn’t just that game,’’ Lauletta said after Thursday’s game. “I feel the three games previously to that I did well and did what I needed to do. That’s all I was looking for.’’