NFL

‘Devastated’ by Giants low offer, Tuck bolts to Raiders

Justin Tuck said, often, how much he wanted to end his NFL career with the Giants. That won’t happen, because the Giants clearly didn’t want Tuck as fervently as he wanted them.

As promised, Tuck on Thursday gave the Giants a chance to match the two-year, $11 million offer he received from the Raiders. The Giants declined to do so. In fact, their offer was not even close to what the Raiders anteed up — coming in the two-year, $6 million range. And, just like that, a Giants staple, the defensive team captain, a leader in the locker room and a fixture in the community made his exit, trading Giants blue for the Silver and Black of the Raiders.

Tuck took the high road when he spoke publicly after the signing, but privately he is “devastated” by the Giants offer and “heartbroken” he was forced out of New York because the Giants offer was not competitive, someone close to Tuck told The Post’s Steve Serby.

“I absolutely did not see it coming,’’ Tuck said on a conference call. “It wasn’t necessarily on my radar at that point in time, but everything accelerated pretty quickly and I’m excited. I really am. Obviously, everyone knows the history of the Raiders, and I just want to be a part of the group that brings it back.”

The Giants cannot be shocked by this, unless they completely misread the market. The money the Raiders gave Tuck was solid, but nothing that should have blown the Giants out of the water. That the Giants didn’t come close was a sure sign they did not value Tuck as much as he thought they should. They chose to make the re-signing of linebacker Jon Beason (three years, $19 million) much more of a priority.

“Obviously, everyone knows I love the New York Giants and I appreciate nine years of my career being there, but I just wanted a new, fresh start,’’ Tuck said, “and I think Oakland is definitely a good place to be.’’

Actually, what Tuck wanted was for the Giants to up their offer so he could return for a 10th season.

This is the end of an era, as Tuck was one of five Giants players left with two Super Bowl rings. He was a catalyst on two Super Bowl-winning defenses, but the Giants will move forward without unquestionably their best defensive lineman in 2013.

A presence at defensive end, Tuck learned from Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora and passed some of that knowledge down to Mathias Kiwanuka and Jason Pierre-Paul. Without him, the Giants desperately need a comeback season from Pierre-Paul, as Tuck gave them 11 sacks last season and is one of the best run-stopping defensive ends in the league.

Tuck loved playing for the Giants and all that goes with it. The Raiders, though, headed into free agency an incredible $60 million under the salary cap. Tuck turns 31 March 29, while the Giants still see value in him, they weren’t going to raid the vault to bring him back.

On Wednesday, Tuck visited with the Raiders in Oakland and that night dined with general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen. Not only did they land Tuck, but they found him a pass-rush partner, signing former Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley to a two-year, $12 million contract. That should help the struggling Raiders from a public relations standpoint, although both can be viewed as aging defensive stars.

After two disappointing seasons slowed by injuries, Tuck rebounded in 2013, coming on strong to finish with 91 tackles and two forced fumbles to go along with his 11 sacks, playing all 16 games. He knows this will likely be his last NFL contract and he wanted to cash in. The Raiders in many ways are the polar opposites of the Giants, and not only because of their location on the West Coast, and Tuck had to weigh leaving the stability of the Giants for the instability of the Raiders.

“Everyone talks about once you turn 30, it’s all downhill,’’ Tuck said. “I don’t believe in that. I don’t look at myself in that regard. I feel like I have a lot of great football left in me. I think the efforts that I bring to this team off the field are going to be tremendous also as far as leadership and just how to stand out in the community and becoming integrated with Raider Nation. That’s something I’m looking forward to doing.”