There could be room for Evan Neal on the Giants after all.
If the 53-man roster is going to include 10 offensive linemen, then the 6-foot-7, 340-pound Neal could steal one of the five backup jobs now that he is listed as a co-second-teamer with Aaron Stinnie at right guard.
After the five starters, the leading backups appear to be tackles J.C. Davis and Marcus Mbow, guard Daniel Faalele, center Lucas Patrick and … Neal, Stinnie, Joshua Ezeudu or Bryan Hudson.
“I’ve seen great growth from Evan in his ability to take coaching and his ability to try to understand not just how things look on paper but what certain alignments mean to him,” first-year offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren said.
“I think he is seeing more in his stance, and he’s playing with more confidence. Listening to other people in the building, they feel like he’s taken some good steps. We’ll see what he’s able to do in these [preseason] games.”
Neal was the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft who flopped at right tackle and didn’t play a snap last season after moving to right guard.
He stunningly re-signed with the Giants for no guaranteed money as a free agent rather than looking for a fresh start.
CB Terrion Arnold, who visited the Giants facility Wednesday, is signing with the Seahawks despite no legal resolution to his kidnapping and armed robbery charges.
The Giants were open to signing Arnold, who was released by the Lions after the arrest, but contract discussions never advanced in a meaningful way because they had a clear understanding that the 2024 first-round pick preferred to land with the Super Bowl champions because of a direct path to the field and family ties in the Seattle area.
Head coach John Harbaugh wouldn’t reveal if the starters will play Saturday against the Vikings. But it sounds like he wants QB Jaxson Dart to get his feet wet.
“We’ve got a young quarterback who’s just in his second year, who didn’t play a whole season even last year,” Harbaugh said. “So, he’s just getting started. And we’re going to be playing two of the best teams in our conference [Cowboys and Rams] right out of the gates. And so, we’d like to be ready for that.”
WR Jalin Hyatt (leg) and C John Michael Schmitz (concussion) did not practice and Hyatt was ruled out for the game by Harbaugh.
CBs Greg Newsome II and Dru Phillips, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and Patrick — all of whom are dealing with knee injuries — were limited participants.
CB Paulson Adebo (hamstring) worked to the side and is a “game-time decision.”
With all the injuries at cornerback, the Giants needed healthy reinforcements, so they added Sam Webb and Ugochukwu Amadi while releasing DB David Long and DB D.J. James (waived/injured) before Thursday’s practice.
For the alternate jersey enthusiasts, Harbaugh joked that WR Malik Nabers is “lobbying for the red jersey of the future, but that wasn’t the reason” that he wore red in practice. It was a noncontact reminder.
The Giants coaching staff been wearing more dark/navy blue and red apparel, but that is not a Harbaugh-driven agenda.
