Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal's time with team finally nearing an end
The Giants' Evan Neal looks on prior to their game against the Patriots during a preseason game against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 21. Credit: Getty Images/Al Bello
Evan Neal’s 21-day practice window opened this week as he returns from a hamstring injury, but his time with the Giants is nearing its close.
Despite moving from tackle to guard in the offseason, Neal hasn’t played all season and his last snap came in Week 17 last season. The Giants didn’t pick up his fifth-year option so these are, in essence, Neal’s last weeks with the team.
The former 2022 first-round pick out of Alabama has not lived up to expectations. Neal was a healthy scratch among the inactives for nine of the first 10 games before he was placed on injured reserve.
“When you can’t control what you can’t control, you don’t try to focus on that,” Neal said Wednesday in his first comments since training camp. “I like to focus on things I can control, which is myself, my decisions, my actions. But not playing this season definitely wasn’t something that I foresaw or expected.”
Interim coach Mike Kafka said Wednesday that he’s not thinking about playing Neal to evaluate him at guard, even with three games left. Unless something changes with injuries, it was a firm sign the Giants have moved on from Neal and he’ll look to free agency to continue his career.
“We’ve got five guys that are playing their butt off right now for us and we’re not looking to make any changes,” Kafka said.
The Giants drafting Neal No. 7 overall in 2022 has been the biggest whiff of general manager Joe Schoen’s four-year tenure. Schoen was hired that January and Neal became his second draft pick after edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
After starting 13 games as a rookie, Neal has played just 16 games since due to injuries or being inactive. He lost his starting job in 2024 and didn’t play in the first seven games until injuries forced Neal into action.
That came after he lashed out in 2023 by comparing fans who criticized him to workers who flip hot dogs and hamburgers. A position switch didn’t improve his chances to see the field as he remained on the second unit in training camp and preseason.
For Neal, not playing this season has felt unnatural and was a difficult adjustment.
“That’s our job,” Neal said. “It’s my job to play football and when I got put in a position where I couldn’t do that, yeah, it felt different. But obviously that was something that was out of my control.
“I just tried to go inward. Just focus on Evan and focus on the things, a lot of things, to continue to keep myself mentally strong, physically strong and ready for whatever comes.”
Neal isn’t the only high draft pick the Giants have under Schoen who hasn’t delivered. Cornerback Deonte Banks lost his starting job this season and the former 2023 first-round pick has found more playing time on kick return duty.
Fellow 2023 draftee Jalin Hyatt has struggled to see the field even with Malik Nabers injured. Hyatt’s lone target last Sunday against the Commanders resulted in an interception where Jaxson Dart said he and Hyatt “weren’t on the same page.”
Yet it’s Neal being sidelined every week that’s been the clearest reminder of why Schoen’s stint has been ripe for criticism.
“I just did everything that I could do to the best of my abilities to go out there and play,” Neal said. “Whether it be a Saturday night or a Sunday morning, I’d pretty much find out whether I’d be playing or not.”
It was almost a surprise that the team opened his practice window. Neal said he was told last week it would happen, but it doesn’t mean he’s closer to seeing the field.
If anything, it’s giving him a chance to practice and stay in shape for his next option. It won’t be with the Giants, who began closing their chapter with Neal by not playing him in last season’s final game.
Neal has had to accept that reality while being open to what’s next once the season — and his Giants time — ends.
“I just had to roll with the punches,” Neal said. “I still see value in myself as a player, and whatever the future holds, hey, I’m excited for.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
