Evan Neal practices with the Giants. He's still not sure he'll play for them again

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Evan Neal showed up to the stadium the day before or the morning of a game and learned each time whether he would be active for the New York Giants if a jersey was hanging at his locker. That happened just once this season.

Neal is almost certainly leaving as a free agent this spring for a much-needed change of scenery — but not before a surprising plot twist. The 2-12 Giants decided to open his window to return from injured reserve, and Neal practiced with the team Wednesday for the first time since getting sidelined a month ago.

Neither he nor interim coach Mike Kafka expects Neal to get on the field unless a starter gets hurt.

“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.

Neal has not taken a single snap this season after the Giants converted him from a tackle to a guard. After losing a training camp competition with Greg Van Roten to start at right guard, he was a healthy scratch for nine of the first 10 games before injuring a hamstring.

“Not playing this season definitely wasn’t something that I foresaw or expected,” Neal said. “I just came to work, showed up every day and played football to the best of my abilities."

Neal has appeared in just 29 games since being selected with the seventh pick in the 2022 draft as a top prospect out of Alabama, ahead of the likes of receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, safety Kyle Hamilton and defensive tackle Jordan Davis. New York decided in April not to pick up the $16.7 million fifth-year option in his contract.

Given that his future is very likely elsewhere in the NFL, it was a bit of a surprise that Neal is getting ramped up to return to the active roster. The 25-year-old said he heard about it from general manager Joe Schoen last week, so he wasn't shocked by the move.

“I was like, ‘OK, if you do that, I’ll be ready,'” Neal said. “Wherever they decide to line me up, then that’s what I do. If I get that opportunity, great. I mean, I don’t think anyone on the offensive line is injured at this point. But I’m employed by the New York Giants, so I’ll do whatever they ask me to do at this point.”

Following a trying year, Neal hopes for “abundance, longevity and being able to play football” moving forward. Whether his career continues as a tackle or a guard remains to be seen.

“I still value in myself as a player, and whatever the future holds, hey, I’m excited for," Neal said. “I view myself as Evan Neal, a football player. I think I can do both. And I’ve yet to play in a game this year, a regular-season game, at guard, and I have more film at tackle, but I think I can do both at this point. I think it makes me more valuable: my versatility.”

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