The New York Giants continued to upgrade and tweak their offensive line this offseason with several mid-level free agent signings.
General manager Joe Schoen added veteran tackles James Hudson III and Stone Forsythe in free agency to back up starters Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor.
What about Evan Neal? Well, he's still in the plans somewhere, too. Where, exactly, remains to be seen.
Neal, a 2022 first-round pick, has struggled at tackle and has one year left on his rookie contract. On Monday at the league meeting in Palm Beach, Schoen said that Neal would "do whatever he can to help the team" and was "open" to changing his position to guard.
That might be a stretch for Neal as well. The Giants have a glut of linemen at the guard position on their roster a the moment. They have Jon Runyan Jr. and Jake Kubas returning and have re-signed veterans Greg Van Roten and Aaron Stinnie this spring.
Schoen is confident the line is improving, and he can still keep building this spring as he has five of the first 105 selections in the upcoming NFL draft.
"When Andrew [Thomas] was healthy last year, I was happy with the way the offensive line was playing those first six games they were together. I thought we were able to function offensively in both phases of passing and running the football," he said. "GVR also brings, what people don't see, is leadership. He's a force multiplier in there, which is really good for John Michael [Schmitz], really good for Jake Kubas in his development.
"Really happy to get Greg back. He's got versatility, he played some center, played guard. But the leadership and the veteran presence in that room was very important. I look forward to those guys continuing to grow, and his leadership in that room and getting his help developing some of the young guys was really important last year."
Neal is a bit of a wild card this year. With the Giants not likely to pick up his fifth-year option, he'd going to have to prove his value in camp. He is almost certain to make the roster, however, as his contract is fully guaranteed and has a cap hit and a dead cap charge of $7.81 million.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants' Evan Neal 'open' to playing guard in 2025
