The New York Giants finally made a decision everyone saw coming.
After three frustrating seasons marred by injuries and poor performance, the team declined the fifth-year option for former seventh overall pick Evan Neal — effectively signaling that his time as a franchise cornerstone is running out.
Giants decline Evan Neal’s fifth-year option as patience runs thin
Neal’s option would have cost the Giants a hefty $16.7 million for 2026, a number far too high for a player who’s struggled to find his footing.
Since being drafted in 2022, Neal has logged 1,781 snaps at right tackle, surrendering 98 pressures and 12 sacks over that span. Last season alone, he gave up 17 pressures and two sacks across just 459 snaps, earning six penalties along the way.
While there were flashes of solid run blocking, they were buried under a mountain of inconsistency. For a team desperate to protect its quarterback and build stability up front, Neal’s lack of development became impossible to ignore.
A new role could offer Neal a lifeline — but the clock is ticking
The Giants aren’t cutting bait just yet.
Instead, they plan to move Neal inside to compete at right guard, where his size and raw power might be better utilized. It’s a last-ditch effort to salvage the career of a player who was once seen as a can’t-miss prospect.
He’ll battle veteran Greg Van Roten, who re-signed this offseason and offers a steady, if unspectacular, presence at guard. If Neal can’t win the job outright, his time with the Giants could be over sooner rather than later.
It’s a steep fall from the expectations that accompanied him out of Alabama, where he once looked like the safest offensive line prospect in years.
Kayvon Thibodeaux’s extension highlights the contrast
While Neal faces an uphill battle, his draft classmate Kayvon Thibodeaux received a much different message from the Giants.
The team exercised Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option, locking him in through 2026 after a strong sophomore campaign. Thibodeaux’s development into a premier pass rusher makes Neal’s struggles stand out even more, a reminder that sometimes the draft is as much about landing in the right situation as it is about pure talent.
Giants preparing for life after Neal
If Neal can’t show dramatic improvement at guard, the Giants will almost certainly move on after 2025.
It would mark one of the more disappointing draft outcomes in recent franchise history, but with a revamped offensive line and a clear plan moving forward, the Giants have positioned themselves to weather the storm either way.
The former seventh overall pick still has a chance to rewrite his story — but he’ll have to do it quickly, or risk becoming just another name in the long list of what-ifs.
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