The New York Giants (2-4) haven’t had much to smile about in 2024. One of the lone bright spots has been All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas, but he is now lost for the season. Thomas, who has been dealing with a foot injury, underwent season-ending surgery, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports.
To replace Thomas, New York could turn to its seventh overall pick from the 2022 NFL Draft in Evan Neal. The 24-year-old started all 13 of his games in 2022 as a rookie at right tackle, and he started all seven games he played in 2023 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Neal has been relegated to backup status to start the 2024 season with the Giants signing Jermaine Eluemunor this offseason and then switching him from guard to tackle when Neal wasn’t ready for training camp.
Neal ranked 84th out of 85 qualifying tackles in Pro Football Focus’ grading system in 2023 after surrendering 20 quarterback pressures on only 309 pass-blocking snaps. That was after a rookie year in which he ranked 86th out of 89 tackles after allowing 52 quarterback pressures on 534 pass-blocking snaps.
The Giants’ offense, a moribund group that scored its first touchdown in a home game started by quarterback Daniel Jones in 651 days (since Jan. 1 of 2023) in their 17-7 Week 6 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, could plunge to new lows going forward.
