{"id":86889,"date":"2025-05-29T02:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/86889\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T02:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:44:09","slug":"former-alabama-all-american-evan-neal-working-at-new-spot-for-new-york-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/86889\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Alabama All-American Evan Neal working at new spot for New York Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preparing for what could be his final season with the New York Giants, Evan Neal <\/a>is working at the position he played as a freshman at Alabama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After earning recognition as a consensus All-American as the left offensive tackle for the Crimson Tide in 2021, Neal joined the Giants as the 10th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. <\/p>\n

Neal went right into New York\u2019s lineup at right tackle, but injuries caused him to miss four games in 2022, 10 in 2023 and eight in 2024.<\/p>\n

At the Giants\u2019 OTA practice on Wednesday, Neal worked at left guard<\/a>. He earned freshman All-American recognition playing left guard for Alabama in 2019 before manning right tackle for the Crimson Tide\u2019s undefeated CFP national-championship team in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvan\u2019s a smart guy,\u201d Giants coach Brian Daboll said<\/a> before practice on Wednesday. \u201cHe\u2019ll be out here today. We will work him at guard, and I know he\u2019s excited about the opportunity he has. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a big man. He\u2019s got length. He\u2019s obviously a little bit taller than I\u2019d say traditional guards, but he\u2019s played it. He\u2019s played a number of positions since he\u2019s been at University of Alabama. He\u2019s been working hard this last month and a half and look forward to getting him out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neal had ankle surgery on Jan. 2, 2024, spent the first three weeks of last year\u2019s training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list and opened the 2024 season as the backup to free-agent signee Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle.<\/p>\n

Neal returned to the starting spot on Nov. 10 when Eluemunor moved to left tackle after Andrew Thomas sustained a season-ending injury.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Giants declined their option<\/a> for a fifth season on Neal\u2019s rookie contract, putting him on course to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.<\/p>\n

Like all first-round picks, Neal signed a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth season. Of his original $24.551 million deal, Neal still has a $1.1 million base salary and a $2.953 roster bonus (due the third day of training camp) coming in 2025.<\/p>\n

If the Giants had used the fifth-year option, they would have guaranteed Neal a $16.685 million payday for the 2026 season. The fifth-year option figure is the average of the third- through 25th-highest salaries among offensive linemen over the past five seasons.<\/p>\n

FOR MORE OF AL.COM\u2019S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1<\/a>.<\/p>\n