Giants' Neal says he's not concerned with booing fans, 'sheep' critics

New York Giants right tackle Evan Neal went on the offensive against booing fans and naysayers Wednesday.

Neal's play has been heavily criticized this season, with more scrutiny coming after the Giants' offensive line surrendered 11 sacks in Monday night's 24-3 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. However, the former No. 7 overall pick says he doesn't care what his critics say about him.

"Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?" Neal told NJ.com's Darryl Slater, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "The person that's commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?"

Neal also called fans who booed the Giants during Monday's game "fair-weather" and "bandwagoners."

The 2022 seventh overall pick issued an apology on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, not long after his initial comments.

"I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am," he wrote. "I let my frustrations in my play (and) desire to win get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyone's job and I deeply regret the things I said.

"We are working day in and day out to grow as a team and this was an unnecessary distraction. I apologize."

New York has gotten off to a disappointing 1-3 start this season. The Giants are averaging just 11.5 points per contest through four games.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old is graded as PFF's fourth-worst offensive tackle this campaign.

"I'm just going to focus on Evan and getting better," Neal added. "I honestly do not care what anybody has to say about Evan Neal, because they're going to talk anyway."