Less than 24 hours before the New York Giants’ Week 10 matchup in Germany, KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson revealed a surprise shake up on the offensive line.
“[The] Giants [are] expected to start Evan Neal @AlabamaFTBL at right tackle Sunday for [the] NFL international game against [the Carolina] Panthers in Munich, Germany, per a league source,” Wilson relayed on X on November 9.
With current left tackle Chris Hubbard battling an illness, this would imply that starting right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor will be switching over to quarterback Daniel Jones’ blindside for the November 10 face-off.
On November 7, New York Post reporter Ryan Dunleavy informed that there was “no sign of Giants LT Chris Hubbard at practice today. No mention of him in Brian Daboll’s pre-practice injury updates.”
At the time, Dunleavy added that this “could mean either Josh Ezeudu at LT or Jermaine Eluemunor at LT with Evan Neal at RT.”
Having said that, after Hubbard traveled with the team to Germany, it was later reported by New York Post reporter Paul Schwartz that the veteran blocker “should be fine” ahead of Week 10. Perhaps, Hubbard’s status has changed since then, or maybe he’s still under the weather and traveled with the team just in case his condition improved.
This is a developing story. We will continue to monitor any updates before November 10.
Evan Neal Could Take Over as Permanent Starter After Giants’ OT Swap: Report
Not long after Wilson’s initial report, NorthJersey.com beat reporter Art Stapleton confirmed that it “sounds like” Neal will indeed start at right tackle versus the Panthers with Eluemunor switching to left tackle.
There was an additional note from Stapleton that could end up being very important, however.
“I’m told [the] Giants have been heading in this direction with Neal for several weeks behind the scenes, and getting him ready is unrelated to Chris Hubbard missing practice with an illness on Thursday,” the beat writer said.
That would mean that if Neal plays well on Sunday — or maybe, even if he doesn’t — he could be the starting right tackle moving forward. Considering the Giants’ 2-7 record, it would make sense to get Neal back on the field, even if his presence doesn’t necessarily give them the best chance to win.
General manager Joe Schoen spent a No. 7 overall selection on Neal in 2022 and the longer he rides the bench, the less value he has toward the organization. The hope is that the 24-year-old can play well enough to either turn into a long-term piece for Big Blue or at least garner some interest via trade.
None of that occurs if Neal doesn’t play. Hence the likely OT swap in Week 10.
Giants Elect Not to Start Evan Neal at Left Tackle, Instead Trusting Jermaine Eluemunor to Make the Switch
The other part of this conversation is that the Giants could have just started Neal at left tackle, his former position in college, with starter Andrew Thomas out for the remainder of the season. According to Wilson and Stapleton, they will elect not to do this — and there could be one or two reasons for this.
The first would be that the Giants still see a future with Neal as the starting right tackle, bookending Thomas for years to come. If that is their hope for Neal, switching him to left tackle only stalls his development with Thomas returning next season.
The other possible reason would be that Daboll has tried Neal at left tackle in practice and has not seen enough upside in switching him to the more important of the two positions.
The Giants have been very buttoned-up when it comes to Neal and his usage, or lack thereof. It will be nice for fans to see him back on the field again, at least for the sake of clarity, if nothing else.
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Giants ‘Expected to’ Shake up Starting Offensive Line vs. Panthers: Report