New York Giants fans may have felt a blast from the past on Thursday if they saw the report that the Las Vegas Raiders tried out a pair of familiar faces in guard Evan Neal and edge Azeez Ojulari.
Both players were once considered key building blocks for the Giants‘ future; instead, they never quite found their footing in New York and ended up parting ways with the franchise at different points.
Well, the two ex-Giants are now reunited, this time in Las Vegas. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported just hours after the workout that both Neal and Ojulari would be signing with the Raiders‘ practice squad.
“Raiders signed former Saints WR Ronnie Bell, former Giants G Evan Neal and former Giants DE Azeez Ojulari to their practice squad,” wrote Schefter in a post on X.
Evan Neal’s Failed Giants Tenure
Neal will go down in New York Giants history as one of their biggest draft mistakes of all time, considering the fact that they spent the No. 7 overall pick on him in 2022, current general manager Joe Schoen’s first draft at the helm.
The former Alabama standout was tabbed as a blue-chip talent coming out of college and was projected to be a franchise’s right tackle for a decade.
Instead, Neal quickly proved he wasn’t cut out for the bright lights of the NFL and struggled mightily for New York throughout his first few years in the league.
With 29 career games under his belt since 2022, Neal has recorded a pass-block win rate of 82.9%, which, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, ranks last among all qualified offensive tackles during that span.
After four failed seasons, Neal became an unrestricted free agent and somehow managed to find his way back to New York this past spring.
The former first-round draft pick signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with Big Blue and was a mainstay of the 90-man offseason roster.
He was buried on the depth chart, however, and failed to make the Giants’ 53-man roster. They opted not to bring him back on the practice squad.
Now, Neal will have a chance to resurrect his career in Las Vegas, playing for offensive line coach Rick Dennison.
Azeez Ojulari’s Up-and-Down Giants Tenure
Ojulari, as compared to Neal, actually had a pretty bright start to his career with the New York Giants.
A member of former general manager Dave Gettleman’s final draft class in 2021, the second-round pick out of Georgia burst onto the scene in his rookie season with eight sacks and eight tackles for loss in 17 games.
Unfortunately, injuries would prevent him from ever playing a full season again, and he would go on to appear in 29 games in three seasons, recording 13 sacks.
The Giants let his contract expire after the 2024 season, and he ended up landing with the Philadelphia Eagles this past season. Ojulari would only appear in three games and would fail to record a single sack.
He was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons this past spring, but failed to make the 53-man roster, despite their need at edge. He now finds himself in Vegas, similar to Neal, hoping for a chance to revitalize what felt like a once-promising career.
Raiders Sign Pair of Giants’ Former Draft Busts After Tryout