OL Evan Neal a Healthy Scratch; Jaxson Dart Officially No. 2 for NY Giants in Week 1

Evan Neal's fall from grace continues as he did not show the coaches enough to earn a gameday uniform in the team's regular-season opener. Meanwhile the Giants make it official on who QB2 is.

New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal (73) on the field during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Giants' first inactive report of the season is out, and two players whom the team once hoped would be staples of the offensive line for the next decade are on the list.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas and offensive lineman Evan Neal, both first-round draft picks (Thomas in 2020, Neal in 2022), are among the inactive players. Thomas’s inactivity is not unexpected, as he’s been continuing to work his way back off the PUP list, where he spent the majority of the summer continuing his rehab of his foot. 

Thomas, who had a second procedure in April to remove a screw, was activated off the PUP list toward the end of training camp. To date, he’s only participated in one fully padded practice as he continues to work his way back into playing shape. 

While there is hope that Thomas will be ready for next week’s game against Dallas, a more realistic target is Week 3’s home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Neal, whom the Giants initially envisioned as their starting right tackle, is a healthy scratch this week, losing a roster spot to Aaron Stinnie, who becomes the first off the bench at guard, and rookie Marcus Mbow, the first off the bench at tackle.

Neal spent the entire offseason trying to convert from tackle to guard, but as has been the case seemingly every year with him, he missed some practice time with an injury, and he also failed to show any consistency in making the conversion. 

The Giants seem ready to move on from Neal, whose fifth-year option was not picked up. They will continue to work with him while he is on the roster, the hope being that he eventually shows enough improvement at the position to be a contributor, but for now, it’s yet another disappointing setback in the career of the 2022 seventh overall draft pick.

Jaxson Dart Gets the No. 2 Nod

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has officially been named QB2 for Week 1's clash against the Commanders. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Giants, who per earlier reports were said to have had a package of plays ready for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, have indeed named Dart as quarterback No. 2 for this game as Jameis Winston has been designated as the emergency quarterback.

And the rest

The rest of the Giants inactive players are safety Beau Brade, seventh round draft pick tight end Thomas Fidone II, defensive lineman and third-round pick defensive lineman Darius Alexander.

Commanders Inactives

Washington's inactive players include quarterback Josh Johnson, running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., linebacker Ale Kaho, linebacker Kain Medrano, tackle Trent Scott, tackle George Fant and defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste.

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