Giants place Evan Neal on PUP list among Tuesday roster moves

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Evan Neal’s return to the field will be delayed.

The Giants today announced that Neal, their third year right tackle, will begin training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list. Players reported to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center today for camp; the first practice is tomorrow.

Neal last played on Nov. 5 in Las Vegas, when he aggravated an ankle injury that was ultimately diagnosed as a small fracture. The injury was repaired on Jan. 5 in a procedure performed by Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. Neal participated in some offseason drills, but not in the team’s June minicamp.

The Giants have three players on the active/PUP list. Last week, rookie tight end Theo Johnson, the team’s fourth-round draft choice, was placed on the list with a hip flexor injury. Cornerback Aaron Robinson was the second player designated today. In 2023, Robinson spent the entire season on the physically unable to perform list, one year after he was limited to two games because he had his appendix removed and tore his ACL.

Two players – safety Jalen Mills (calf) and cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III (groin) – were placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Mills, a nine-year veteran, and Thomas-Oliver, a fourth-year pro, are each new to the Giants this year.

It is unclear who will take the first-team snaps at right tackle in Neal’s absence. Candidates include Josh Ezeudu, who was limited to six games last season because of a toe injury, and free agent Jermaine Eluemunor, who played left guard in the spring.

The seventh overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Neal has started all 20 games in which he’s played at right tackle. But he played in just seven games last season, and just once after Oct. 15 when he first hurt his ankle in Buffalo. Neal was inactive for the next two games before returning to action against the Raiders, but was inactive for five more games before being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 24.

A player can only be placed on the active/PUP list before the start of training camp. The player counts against the 90-man roster limit and can come off the PUP list at any point during camp and practice immediately. He can participate in team meetings and use the team facilities during the preseason while on active/PUP. They can also work out on the side during practices, but they cannot participate in any portion of practice (walkthroughs, individual drills, seven-on-sevens, team drills, etc.). Players cannot return to the PUP list if they sustain a setback or another injury during training camp.

Players on the active/PUP list could be moved to the reserve/PUP list during roster cutdowns. If placed on the reserve/PUP list, a player wouldn’t count against the active roster and must sit out the first four games.

The reserve/NFI list is like the PUP list, but it is used for injuries or ailments suffered outside of NFL activities.

If a player remains on NFI after the final roster cutdowns, he’ll have to sit out the first four games of the season.