Giants RT Evan Neal back to improving after return from concussion
Evan Neal #73 of the Giants on the sidelines during a pre-season football game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium on August 18, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Getty Images
In his second NFL season, the Giants are banking on improvement from right tackle Evan Neal.
On Friday, he played through the first half, which provided a good barometer on his conditioning after he missed about 10 days with a concussion.
“It feels good to be back out there, get my feet back up under me,” Neal said Monday. “Thankfully, I was only out for about a week and a half or so, so it wasn’t that much time, but it was just good to be back out there with the guys.”
Neal, who provides a bookend with left tackle Andrew Thomas, believes he has improved from last year’s rookie season.
“I feel like I have gotten better but, like I said, I still have a lot more work to go. It’s still preseason,” Neal said. “I’m going to continue to work on my craft, continue to get better every day and see how good I get.”
Offensive line coach Bobby Johnson also cited Neal’s better balance as a key to his improvement.
Neal went into the summer with objectives that he said he reached — to have better balance, refine his technique and get into better shape.
Neal also was reminded, not for the first time, that Thomas took a step forward in his second season.
“I’m in Andrew’s ear all the time, just talking ball, just chopping it up,” Neal said. “He’s a great resource to have in the room for sure.”
Blue notes
The Giants apparently will see Aaron Rodgers on Saturday when the Giants “visit” the Jets at MetLife Stadium in the final preseason game for both teams. (It would be his first August appearance since 2018). Brian Daboll said Rodgers’ presence will have no effect on the Giants’ plans. “Really, I’ve got my team to worry about,” Daboll said. “He’s a heck of a player. I just try to focus on our football team getting better.” . . . Rob Gronkowski said in an interview that if he’d come out of retirement to play for any coach, that coach would be Daboll. (Gronkowski made it clear that he’s not coming out of retirement.) Gronkowski and Daboll were together with the Patriots from 2013-16.
“I am close with Rob, so got a lot of respect, admiration,” Daboll said. “Coaching him for four years, he’s a good friend. We’ve talked. I’m not saying we talked about that, but he’s a close friend, so wouldn’t read too much into that.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
