The New York Giants have gotten off to an impressive 5-1 start this year. But one significant injury on Sunday may drastically affect the rest of their season.
Rookie right tackle Evan Neal suffered a brutal-looking injury while blocking in the second quarter of their matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Neal was helped off the field. Unfortunately, he then needed to be taken to the locker room on a cart for further analysis of the injury.
It certainly looked like a devastating injury for Neal, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft following a strong career at Alabama.
Neal was ruled out for the rest of the game before he even got to the locker room. Many Giants fans believe that does not bode well for his availability moving forward.
Evan Neal has been ruled out with a knee injury pic.twitter.com/70fMTIHiZ2
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 23, 2022
That Evan Neal injury could be very costly for the #Giants.
Shuffling O-line around again.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) October 23, 2022
evan neal hurt pic.twitter.com/vwUocjw0xG
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) October 23, 2022
Neal was actually the second Giants’ offensive lineman to go down in this game. Starting guard Ben Bredeson was also ruled out with a knee injury.
Neal’s injury is a big deal for the current Giants, but it also plays a notable factor into the future plans considering how young he is into his NFL career.
Four of the starters playing on the offensive line in this game were not the initial starters for the Giants in their opening game. This line turnover could play a serious factor into their team success down the stretch.
There will surely be more tests done on Neal in the coming days as the Giants determine just how much damage was done to his knee in this unfortunate incident.
[The Comeback on Twitter; photo from Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports]