Tag: Evan Neal

Report: Giants reached out to Evan Neal’s team about moving to guard

The New York Giants reportedly reached out to Evan Neal’s team to discuss the possibility of him moving inside to left guard.

The New York Giants focused heavily on retooling their offensive line over the first week of free agency, signing Jermaine Eluemunor, Jon Runyan Jr., Austin Schlottmann, and Aaron Stinnie.

Of the group, only Eluemunor has significant experience at tackle.

After their introductory press conferences, it seems like Runyan and Eluemunor are slated to play guard with Schlottmann and Stinnie serving as backups. It would also mean Evan Neal reassumes his role as the team’s starting right tackle.

“Evan Neal is a really good player in my opinion. I think he has a lot of potential,” Eluemunor told reporters.

But those roles aren’t quite set in stone. At least not yet.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that the Giants have reached out to Neal’s team to discuss the possibility of him moving to guard. More specifically, to left guard alongside Andrew Thomas.

“I’ve also heard that the Giants had talked with Evan Neal’s team a little bit about playing left guard,” Raanan said on the Breaking Big Blue podcast.

For now, Neal remains penciled in at right tackle but Raanan doesn’t believe that will remain the case long-term — unless, of course, Neal drastically improves.

“Evan Neal, from what I understand, is the right tackle only until he’s not the right tackle,” Raanan said.

General manager Joe Schoen has refused to publicly entertain the idea of Neal moving inside to guard but it’s slowly becoming the most likely outcome.

Expect Neal and Eluemunor to see time at right tackle throughout the summer with a final decision being made closer to Week 1.

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9 questions Giants GM Joe Schoen must answer at NFL Combine

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen will meet with reporters at the 2024 NFL Combine and these are 9 questions he must answer.

The 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana gets underway on Tuesday, February 27 as teams and prospects begin to arrive for the “Underwear Olympics.”

Although on-field drills don’t officially begin until Thursday, press conferences are lined up to start the week. 26 of the league’s 32 general managers will speak, including New York Giants GM Joe Schoen.

Schoen will take the podium on Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET and he’ll have a boatload of questions that need answering.

Here’s a look at nine topics Schoen must address.

Note: Giants head coach Brian Daboll is one of 12 coaches who is not slated to conduct a formal interview.

Giants’ offensive building blocks ranked among NFL’s worst

Bleacher Report ranks the New York Giants’ offensive building blocks among the NFL’s worst and offers this take: “Meh.”

The New York Giants’ roster has improved from where it was two years ago when general manager Joe Schoen took over.

In his first offseason as GM, the Giants were in salary cap hell and extremely limited in the moves they could make. Things cleared up a bit last year but there still wasn’t a massive spending spree.

Although some positions have seen a boost, the Giants remain needy — especially on the offensive side of the ball.

That’s something Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report recognized this week as he ranked every team’s offensive building blocks. The Giants checked in near the bottom under the “jury’s very much out” category.

22. New York Giants: The Giants are loaded with young offensive players who have failed to show significant signs of becoming major contributors. The list? It starts with practically the entire offensive line beyond 25-year-old Andrew Thomas (namely John Michael Schmitz and Evan Neal, who are 24 and 24, respectively), and spans into the pass-catching corps with Wan’Dale Robinson (23), Jalin Hyatt (22) and Daniel Bellinger (23). Meh.

Certainly, elite tackle Andrew Thomas gives the Giants one of the league’s top building blocks. After that, it is seemingly a bunch of unproven young players.

Wan’Dale Robinson showed flashes this past season. However, he needs to continue trending in the right direction and, most importantly, stay on the field.

As for John Michael Schmitz and Evan Neal, the Giants hope they can be long-term solutions on the offensive line. However, Neal is looking like a bust and Schmitz was a mixed bag during his rookie season.

Schoen has plenty of work to do to improve the roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Given the status of the offense, it would be no surprise if they spent their first few picks in the draft on offensive players and focused heavily on the O-line in free agency.

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Giants’ 9 biggest disappointments of 2023

The New York Giants regressed significantly in 2023 and these nine players were among the most disappointing.

The 2023 season was a major downer for the New York Giants. There were a few surprises and glimmers of hope on the defensive side of the ball, but it wasn’t enough to extend the season.

The front office issues plagued the team and resulted in more upheaval with the “parting of ways” with Wink Martindale.

In the wake of the blinders being ripped off around the whole Wink/Brian Daboll fiasco, let’s take a look at nine players (in no particular order) who disappointed the most in 2023.

Giants won’t commit to Evan Neal as starting RT in 2024

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen won’t commit to Evan Neal starting in 2024 but expects him to attack the offseason and come back strong.

The New York Giants selected Evan Neal with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. There was a lot of hype around him, his size and athleticism put him at the top of many NFL teams’ draft boards.

But that hype fell flat during Neal’s rookie season. And things got no better in 2023.

It’s not entirely his fault. The Giants’ offense was among the worst in the league and there are definitely 10 other players on the field with Neal. He suffered a concussion, which likely affected his play, but his performance still left the Giants wanting more.

Neal last played on November 5, after which it was revealed he had fractured his ankle and required surgery, ending his season.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen told reporters on Monday that he still has faith in Neal and expects him to work hard this offseason, but stopped short of guaranteeing him a starting job.

“We’ll go through all those conversations over the next couple weeks,” Schoen told reporters. “Evan worked his tail off last offseason, he came in in great shape, had a good start to camp. He had a concussion, you know, so I expect him to attack this offseason the same way and we’ll see how it plays out.”

That doesn’t mean Neal won’t start, but it does mean that the front office is looking at every option to improve the offense. And it could be that he does earn that starting spot, but the message is clear: The offensive line needs work and players will have to fight for their spot this offseason.

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Giants’ Evan Neal, Tyre Phillips had successful surgeries on Tuesday

New York Giants offensive linemen, Evan Neal and Tyre Phillips, each underwent successful reparative surgeries on Tuesday.

Two New York Giants offensive linemen underwent surgery this week to repair season-ending injuries — one in North Carolina and one in New York.

From SNY:

Neal had a procedure after sustaining a small fracture in his ankle on Tuesday by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, North Carolina. Neal originally sustained the ankle in early November at Las Vegas and was unable to return to action, limiting the former first-round draft pick to just seven games in his second NFL season.

Phillips, who tore his quadriceps in Big Blue’s Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday, underwent an operation on Tuesday in New York City with Dr. Scott Rodeo.

The Giants claim they aren’t worried about Neal, who many are ready to label a “bust,” but it’s difficult to believe they aren’t seeking alternatives at right tackle. There has been talk about moving Neal to guard next year.

Phillips was one of the players the Giants brought in to spell Neal after this injury. He has been a decent swing tackle and they could consider bringing him back next year.

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Giants’ Evan Neal suffered fractured ankle before landing on IR

Originally diagnosed with an ankle sprain, a recent CT scan revealed that New York Giants RT Evan Neal actually has an ankle fracture.

New York Giants second-year right tackle Evan Neal reportedly fractured his ankle during the team’s November 5 game in Las Vegas against the Raiders.

The initial diagnosis was an ankle sprain, but new information this week revealed Neal had a fracture and is headed for surgery. He has not played since that game and was recently placed on injured reserve (IR).

From the New York Post:

Evan Neal’s rehab from a sprained ankle wasn’t going according to plan, and now the Giants know why.

A CT scan revealed that Neal fractured a small bone in his left ankle, a source confirmed to The Post, and that was the impetus for shutting down the former first-round draft pick by placing him on injured reserve.

Neal has had a spotty start to his NFL career since the Giants selected him seventh overall in the 2022 NFL draft. He missed four games last season due to a knee injury and only appeared in seven this year. There has been talk of shifting him inside to guard, a decision head coach Brian Daboll will save for after the season.

“Right now getting ready to play the Rams, so all that stuff will be evaluated when there is a time for it but really focused on this week,” Daboll said on Friday.

When asked what kind of a skillset he looks for to know if a player is capable of kicking inside from tackle to guard, Daboll didn’t add much.

“It’s probably a longer discussion, so again, some guys go inside, have some guys that played inside that can play outside. Some guys have played outside, they play inside. I think every player is different, every situation is different,” he said.

Neal has had issues with the speed rush, but to be frank, he hasn’t looked like the stud he was in college at Alabama. The injuries have not helped his development and the Giants have to be concerned that they could have a bust on their hands.

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Giants’ Evan Neal will undergo surgery to repair injured ankle

New York Giants coach Brian Daboll says second-year RT Evan Neal, who is currently on IR, will undergo surgery to repair his injured ankle.

Editor’s note: Head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that Neal will have ankle surgery in the near future.

The New York Giants placed right tackle Evan Neal on season-ending injured reserve (IR) ahead of their Christmas Day game against the Philadelphia Eagles, bringing to a close his second underwhelming season.

Neal was limited to just seven games (all starts) this year while compiling a Pro Football Focus grade of 39.8, which is dead last among all qualifying tackles.

The 2022 first-round pick has under-performed during his time as the starter and some have questioned whether or not a move inside is necessary.

Whatever the Giants ultimately decide to do with Neal, that won’t come until next season. For now, the 23-year-old must focus on getting healthy and that may include an offseason surgery on his ankle.

“Evan’s done everything he could possibly do but couldn’t make it here so there’ll be stuff down the road, but the young man’s done everything he could possibly do. Just didn’t work out,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Tuesday.

Asked point-blank if that meant a procedure, Daboll offered rare injury-related clarity.

“Yeah,” he said.

Neal is expected to be healthy by the time training camp rolls around in July but the timing of any potential procedure may impact his availability for offseason mini-camps and (or) the team’s offseason workout program.

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Giants place Evan Neal on season-ending IR, activate Matt Peart

The New York Giants have placed RT Evan Neal on injured reserve, activated OL Matt Peart from IR and elevated two from the practice squad.

The disappointing second season for New York Giants right tackle Evan Neal has officially come to an end.

The Giants announced on Sunday that Neal has been placed on injured reserve (IR) as the result of a sprained ankle that has kept him out in recent weeks.

Neal ends the season having appeared in just seven games (all starts) while compiling a Pro Football Focus grade of 39.8, which is dead last among all qualifying tackles.

Replacing Neal on the 53-man roster is offensive lineman Matt Peart, who was officially activated from IR just days after he was designated to return.

A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Peart will now fill the role of backup to Tyre Phillips, who has taken over as the team’s starter in place of Neal.

The Giants have also elevated kicker Mason Crosby and linebacker Tomon Fox from the practice squad. It is the first elevation for both players.

Crosby was signed earlier this week to replace Cade York, who landed on IR with a quad injury. He was slated to fill in for Randy Bullock, who had replaced Graham Gano, each of whom are also on IR.

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Giants’ Evan Neal, Rakeem Nunez-Roches out vs. Eagles

The New York Giants have ruled OL Evan Neal and DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches out against the Eagles, listing four others as questionable.

The New York Giants closed out their practice slate on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up their third session in four days.

Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who is nursing a hamstring injury, returned to the field and told reporters he intends to play on Monday afternoon against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Head coach Brian Daboll expressed similar optimism for veteran defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson.

Full injury reports for both the Giants and Eagles can be found below: