Giants’ Evan Neal to undergo surgery after scan reveals ankle fracture

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal will undergo surgery to repair what a scan revealed to be a fracture in his ankle after multiple weeks on Injured Reserve this season. Neal, who’s faced criticism for his play early in his career, went to the injured reserve with three games to go in the season. Now, with surgery, the former Alabama standout will miss the remainder of the season.

“He works hard. He does what we ask him to do,” Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson said of Neal. “There’s things where people want to rush to judgment, and I think he just needs more opportunities to show a bigger body of work to be evaluated.” 

Asked about potential lineup changes next season regarding the young tackle, Johnson told reporters everything will be evaluated once the final whistle blows on the 2023 season.

“Any personnel stuff, we evaluate after the season,” Johnson said. “That’s an ever-changing picture just because of all the things that happen between the end of the season and the beginning of training camp. I can’t really say any of that. Don’t know. There are so many unanswered pieces to the puzzle.”

The Giants drafted Neal with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s on year two of a four-year, $24.55 million rookie deal.

Giants’ comeback effort falls short vs Rams

The Giants came up one field goal short of a comeback on Sunday against the L.A. Rams. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor led the team down the field with 1:08 remaining, setting up kicker Mason Crosby for a 54-yard field goal attempt. The attempt went wide left, leaving Matt Stafford to take a knee for the 26-25 victory. Crosby was activated from the practice squad last week to fill in for injured starter Randy Bullock.

“Not the cleanest game, but we found a way to win,” Stafford said post-game. “A win is a win. It was a crazy game. Felt like I was seeing it well, but obviously made two bad throws.”

While the Giants fell to 5-11, the Rams are now 9-7 on the year and have clinched a spot in the playoffs. New York faces the Eagles in Week 18 in a matchup that could help decide the NFC East. If the Eagles win and the Cowboys lose to the Commanders, Philadelphia would clinch the divisional title and first-round hosting privileges. If Dallas beats Washington, they’ll host in the first round.