Giants’ John Harbaugh justifies keeping two huge draft busts: ‘They’re motivated’
These were interesting moves.
Why did John Harbaugh want big-time draft busts Evan Neal and Josh Ezeudu back in East Rutherford for his first season? He offered a lengthy answer Monday while speaking with reporters at the NFL’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix. First, some context: Back when Joe Schoen called personnel shots, the Giants used premium draft picks on Neal (a right tackle) and Ezeudu (an offensive guard/tackle) in 2022.
Schoen picked Neal seventh overall and Ezeudu 60 spots later, in Round 3. Both spent the next four seasons mostly failing, while also dealing with durability issues. So surely, Harbaugh would let both players walk in free agency this offseason, right?
Nope. The Harbaugh-led Giants re-signed Neal and Ezeudu to extremely cheap one-year contracts. (So these are low-risk moves that don’t guarantee a Week 1 roster spot for either player.
) Ezeudu’s salary cap number is $1. 25 million. Neal’s is just $1.