Giants place Alabama pair on PUP list to start training camp
With the New York Giants set to start their training-camp practices on Wednesday, the NFL team placed offensive tackle Evan Neal and cornerback Aaron Robinson on the physically-unable-to-perform list on Tuesday.
The designation will prevent the players from practicing, but they will be able to join their teammates on the field by receiving medical clearance.
Neal missed 10 games in the 2023 season and had ankle surgery during the offseason.
Neal lined up at right tackle for almost every Giants’ offensive snap in the first six games of the season. But in the remaining 11 games, he played only once, finally going on injured reserve on Dec. 24.
Robinson also started training camp last year on the PUP list, and he missed the entire 2023 season because of a knee injury.
Neal and Robinson played at Alabama.
A consensus All-American as the Crimson Tide’s left tackle in 2021, Neal joined the Giants as the seventh selection of the 2022 NFL Draft. He started 13 regular-season games and two playoff contests at right tackle as a rookie. He missed four games in the middle of the season because of a shoulder injury.
New York added Robinson from UCF in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He had started his college career with 13 games for Alabama in 2016 before transferring.
His NFL career has been beset by injuries. After missing the first seven games of his rookie season because of a core-muscle injury, Robinson played in nine games in 2021. Robinson started the Giants’ 2022 season-opener, but he missed the next two games after he had an appendectomy. Robinson returned to start the fourth game of the season, but a knee injury caused him to miss the rest of the 2022 campaign, and he didn’t make it back in 2023.
The Giants’ veteran players reported for training camp on Tuesday.
New York begins its three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 against the Detroit Lions and kicks off its regular-season slate on Sept. 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.