After selecting Evan Neal seventh overall in 2022, the New York Giants hoped they were locking down a cornerstone tackle for the next decade. Three years later, they’re instead closing the book on one of their more frustrating draft swings, and his latest setback may be the final page.

As NFL insider Ari Meirov pointed out, New York placed Neal on injured reserve with a hamstring issue that likely ends both his season and, realistically, his time with the Giants. He didn’t play a single snap this year, and barring a surprise, he’ll be looking for a fresh start somewhere else as a free agent.

“The Giants placed OL Evan Neal on IR with a hamstring injury, likely ending both his season and his Giants career. The former No. 7 overall pick out of Alabama did not appear in a game this year. He’ll get a fresh start elsewhere after this season as a free agent,” Meirov wrote on X.

And honestly, none of this should catch anyone off guard. Neal struggled right away as a rookie and never found traction. His technique never cleaned up, his balance never improved, and the dominant Alabama tape never followed him to the NFL.

He opened his career as the starting right tackle and held the job mostly out of necessity, missing a few games with an MCL sprain. But the red flags were there.

Last season confirmed the concerns. On 459 snaps, he allowed 17 pressures, gave up two sacks, and committed six penalties. Eventually, Brian Daboll benched him, and even with a full offseason to reset, he couldn’t win his job back. Injuries to others forced him onto the field late in the year, but the inconsistencies were as visible as ever.

The Giants declined his fifth-year option in May and tried moving him to guard in hopes of salvaging something from the final year of his rookie deal. It didn’t stick. Neal was a healthy scratch almost every week, unable to convince the staff he could even serve as a backup. For a former top-10 pick, that’s as telling as it gets.

It’s a tough ending for a player who came in with such high expectations, but it’s also a move the Giants couldn’t avoid any longer. And it wasn’t the only roster shake-up they made this week.

Giants’ roster shuffle ahead of Packers

Sliding Evan Neal to injured reserve opened a roster spot that the Giants used right away. They signed kicker Younghoe Koo to fill it, and he already made himself useful last week. After being elevated from the practice squad last week against Chicago, Koo drilled his only field-goal try and hit both extra points.

The Giants also pulled up defensive lineman Elijah Chatman and wide receiver Dalen Cambre from the practice squad. They had to. Defensive lineman Elijah Garcia, who logged snaps for New York earlier this season, was scooped up by the Falcons for their 53-man roster, thinning an already shaky interior.

Chatman’s promotion was his first to the active roster and came at a time when the defensive front is running light. With Chauncey Golston (neck) and Rakeem Nunez-Roches (toe) ruled out for Sunday’s matchup with Green Bay, they simply needed bodies.

The situation was similar at the wide receiver position. With Darius Slayton sidelined by a hamstring issue, the Giants turned to Cambre for depth and speed. He’ll get a real chance to carve out snaps against a tough Packers secondary. As for the Giants, their season isn’t over just yet.

The Cowboys and Commanders are both sitting on losing records. The NFC East behind Philadelphia is wide open, messy as it is. If New York can steady itself and squeeze something out of the second half, there’s still a window to make this season mean something.