Evan Neal finally returned to training on Sunday, but it remains uncertain whether he will be able to play another game for the Giants in the starting lineup.
The Giants activated their 2022 first-round draft pick from the physically unable to perform list and had him complete individual exercises for the first time this summer.
Unlike in spring camp, however, the starting right tackle spot that once went to Neal will now be filled by Jermaine Eluemunor rather than a placeholder.
“I don’t deserve anything,” Neal said. “I can’t feel like I deserve anything. I just want what I work for.”
Neal missed 10 of the final 11 games last season. Initially diagnosed with a sprain, it was later determined to be a fracture in his ankle.
He underwent surgery on January 2nd.
“I don’t hold any grudges,” Neal said. “The Giants training staff did everything they could to help me get better. You just can’t prevent a misdiagnosis. It happens. It’s nobody’s fault. … It definitely kind of caught me off guard — everyone, actually, because it was something that didn’t show up on the first scan.”
Neal’s career appears to be at a turning point, as he’s halfway through his $24.5 million contract, his first two seasons (10 sacks allowed in 20 games) were a major disappointment, and Eluemunor – originally signed as a left guard – is a more established right tackle.
“It’s a big year for me. I’m not going to sit here and pretend it isn’t,” Neal said. “The last two years haven’t been perfect by any means, but I feel like they’ve been solid. They definitely haven’t been what I wanted them to be, but a lot of things that have happened have just been out of my control – just like the future is out of my control. I can only control the present and how I approach each and every day, and that will be a big indication of my future.”
General Manager Joe Schoen said at the end of last season that Neal “needs to play better.”
“It’s his job to evaluate the players, and if he thinks I need to play better, I’ll be the first to tell me I need to play better,” Neal said. “It really doesn’t matter if it comes out of Joe’s mouth or out of anyone else’s mouth. I’m always going to be the harshest critic of myself, so, yes, I need to play better.”
What if he was asked to fill in for both Eluemunor and left tackle Andrew Thomas at the start of the season?
Or what if he was asked to coach as a guard – a position he held in one of his three years as a promising junior at Alabama, but which he categorically refused to consider when asked by the media last season?
“Whatever role the team has for me, I’m going to take it,” Neal said. “Whether I’m in the starting lineup or not, I’m here to contribute to the team and I’m going to do everything in my power to do that.”
Neal, whose missteps last season included voicing criticism of Giants fans who criticized his play, struck a humble tone for over seven minutes as he faced questions for the first time since updating on his injury in December.
He admitted that he was tested “quite a lot” mentally and physically during his recovery.
“It was just another thing I had to overcome,” Neal said. “I’m built for this and I feel like I came back stronger. If anything, it helped me.”
One of new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo’s biggest tasks will be to save the former No. 7 draft pick, and the work is only just beginning.
“It’s been great working with him in the meetings,” Bricillo said. “So far, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”
Neal seemed to be making progress during OTAs, but then the Giants reduced his workload.
Head coach Brian Daboll and Schoen declined to call it a “setback.”
“In the spring … they decided to release me because I had more days where I wasn’t feeling well than days where I was feeling well,” Neal said. “Lately, I’ve just felt stable enough to go back out there and contribute to the team. That’s where I’m at.”
