Evan Neal’s NFL journey took another difficult turn Monday when the Las Vegas Raiders released the former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman from their practice squad.
The move, announced by the Raiders alongside the release of tight end Chris Myarick and the signing of tackles Amari Kight and Darian Kinnard, ends a short stay in Las Vegas that never produced an elevation to the active roster.
For Alabama fans, Neal remains one of the more prominent recent examples of elite Crimson Tide production not fully translating to the professional level.
A five-star recruit out of IMG Academy, Neal arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2019 and immediately earned a starting job at left guard as a true freshman, earning Freshman All-American recognition.
He then shifted to right tackle in 2020, starting for Nick Saban’s undefeated team that captured the College Football Playoff national championship.
In 2021, he moved to left tackle, served as a team captain, and earned consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC honors while anchoring an elite offensive line.
That résumé made Neal the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Early returns showed promise—he started 13 games as a rookie at right tackle—but injuries and inconsistent play limited him thereafter.
Over four seasons with the Giants, he appeared in 29 games with 27 starts, mostly at tackle, before a positional switch to guard and a healthy scratch-heavy 2025 season in which he never took the field.
The Giants declined his fifth-year option, re-signed him to a one-year minimum deal in March 2026 under a new coaching staff, then released him in final roster cuts on August 30.
Neal signed with the Raiders’ practice squad on September 3, offering a potential fresh start at age 26. He spent roughly six weeks in the organization without seeing regular-season action—his last NFL snaps came in 2024—and was not elevated.
The Raiders’ corresponding addition of Amari Kight, another former Alabama offensive tackle who played under Saban before transferring to UCF, adds a minor Tide connection to the roster shuffle.
Neal’s Alabama career showcased the versatility and physical tools that made him a top-10 prospect: size (listed around 6-foot-7, 340 pounds), athleticism for his frame, and the ability to play multiple spots on the line.
Those same traits have not yet produced sustained success in the NFL, where injuries have repeatedly interrupted his development.
At 26, he remains young enough for another opportunity, but Monday’s release returns him to the free-agent market with limited recent game experience and a résumé that has yet to match his Tuscaloosa production.
