Giants Remain Tight-lipped About Evan Neal's Rehab Timeline

The Giants are trying to keep Evan Neal's rehab under wraps, but it's clear the third-year offensive tackle suffered a setback in the spring.

Sep 11, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal (73) leaves the field after warmups before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The questions about New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal were thrown at head coach Brian Daboll at a steady pace. But much like an All-Pro defensive back, Daboll continued batting down the questions by providing as few answers as possible.

Neal, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, remains on PUP nearly three weeks after general manager Joe Schoen mentioned that the former Alabama standout was “getting close” to a return.

But Neal, who did some light running on the side during Sunday’s practice, seems no closer to making a return to the lineup than he did in the spring. After being limited to individual drills and working against air, he was suddenly shut down toward the end of OTAs and held out of the remaining spring workouts.

At the time, Daboll denied that Neal, who saw his second NFL season end early because of a broken bone in his ankle, had suffered a setback during the spring and that the goal was to let him get healthy for training camp. 

That, however, hasn’t happened. Neal was unable to pass his camp physical and currently sits on the PUP list, with seemingly no timetable in place as to when he might advance to trying to move weight while on the practice field. 

“He’s just rehabbing,” Daboll said when asked about Neal’s situation. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready to go out there. But he’s not ready.”

When Daboll was challenged about Neal's setback in the spring, he again declined to confirm anything. 

“Look, he's working hard. He's trying to do everything he can to get better. He's just not ready to go yet. When he is, he'll be ready,” Daboll said, also declining to say if Neal was in the plans for Week 1 which is fast approaching

“I'm not going to get into all the particulars. He's rehabbing. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

Despite Daboll’s avoidance of the topic, it’s obvious that Neal did have a setback during the spring that prompted trainers to shut him down the rest of the way. 

What isn't known is how much the setback pushed his recovery timeline back, but it's clear that the more time that Neal, who has had a rocky two seasons as a pro, misses, the less likely he'll be ready for the start of the season.

Thus far in camp, he’s been seen doing some light running outside on the grass, but unless he’s done so inside the budding, he has yet to attempt pushing a heavy cart which is a common staple with linemen coming off lower-body injuries. 

Daboll, who continued to decline answering questions regarding any plans for Neal for Week 1, did say that Neal won’t be ready to go against the Lions and that while he’s making progress, the medical staff has been “backing off on him some days” during the rehab process. 

“Everybody’s different,” Dabolls said when asked if he’s been disappointed with how Neal’s rehab has gone. “Everybody handles things differently. It’s obviously not my profession in terms of coming back medically. I know he’s doing everything he can. Whether it’s a high draft pick or undrafted free agent, you care about all your guys. So when he’s ready, we’ll put him out there.”

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