Atlanta Falcons 2016 season at Falcons training camp in 2016 Neal was selected by the
Atlanta Falcons in the first round (17th overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He was the second safety selected in 2016 behind
West Virginia's Karl Joseph (12th overall). On May 4, 2016, the Falcons signed Neal to a fully guaranteed four-year, $10.73 million contract that includes a
signing bonus of $6 million. Throughout
training camp, he competed for the job as the starting
strong safety after it was left vacant due to the Falcons opting not to re-sign
William Moore. He competed for the job against
Kemal Ishmael and
Charles Godfrey. On August 25, 2016, Neal recorded five solo tackles before leaving the Falcons' 17–6 loss at the
Miami Dolphins in the second quarter after sustaining an injury. Neal sustained a knee injury after receiving a stiff arm while attempting to tackle Dolphins' running back
Arian Foster during a 17-yard reception. The injury required surgery and sidelined him for the first two regular season games. Head coach
Dan Quinn named Neal the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety
Ricardo Allen. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Falcons' Week 3 matchup at the
New Orleans Saints and recorded four combined tackles and a pass deflection during their 45–32 victory. He made his first career tackle on the Saints' first offensive snap and tackled running back
Mark Ingram II after a three-yard gain. On October 23, 2016, Neal recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles (five solo) in and a pass deflection during a 26–24 loss at the
Seattle Seahawks. In Week 10, he made a season-high nine solo tackles and broke up a pass in the Falcons' 24–15 loss at the
Philadelphia Eagles. On December 18, 2016, Neal tied his season-high with 11 combined tackles (five solo) and had a season-high two pass deflections during their 41–13 victory against the
San Francisco 49ers. He finished his rookie season in with 105 total tackles (72 solo), nine passes defended, five forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 14 games and 14 starts. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. The Atlanta Falcons finished first in the
National Football Conference (NFC) South with an 11–5 record, while also clinching the number 2 seed in the NFC, and a first round bye in the playoffs. On January 13, 2017, Neal started his first career playoff game and led both teams with 11 combined tackles (ten solo) during the Falcons' 36–20 win against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round. The following week, the Falcons defeated the
Green Bay Packers 44–21 in the NFC Championship. On February 6, 2017, Neal collected 13 combined tackles (nine solo) during the Falcons' 34–28 overtime loss to the
New England Patriots in
Super Bowl LI. Defensive coordinator
Richard Smith was fired after the Falcons' defense experienced a fourth quarter collapse and let the Patriots come back from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
2017 season New Falcons' defensive coordinator
Marquand Manuel opted to retain Neal and Allen as the starting safety duo to begin the regular season. In Week 7, Neal recorded a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) and deflected a pass during a 23–7 loss at the Patriots. In Week 9, he collected eight combined tackles and forced two fumbles in Atlanta's 20–17 loss at the
Carolina Panthers. On December 24, 2016, he tied his season-high with ten combined tackles (eight solo) and a pass deflection in the Falcons' 23–13 loss at the Saints. The following week, Neal made five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback
Cam Newton during a 22–10 victory against the Panthers. He finished the season with 116 combined tackles (83 solo), six pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts. He finished second in tackles for the Falcons, behind linebacker
Deion Jones, and finished second in tackles among safeties behind
Reshad Jones. The Falcons finished third in the NFC South with a 10–6 record. They received a wild card spot, but were eliminated from the playoffs after being defeated 15–10 by the eventual
Super Bowl LII Champions the Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round. Neal recorded six combined tackles during their loss and had 14 combined total in both playoff games.
2018 season During the
season opener against the Eagles, Neal left the game with a knee injury. He came back to the game only to leave the game again on a non-contact play. The next day, it was confirmed that Neal tore his
ACL, and would miss the remainder of the season. He was placed on
injured reserve on September 10, 2018.
2019 season On April 24, 2019, the Falcons exercised the fifth-year option on Neal's contract. In third preseason game against the
Washington Redskins, Neal dealt an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit against tight end
Jordan Reed that ended Reed's season before it began. Neal was fined $28,075 by the NFL for his hit on Reed. In Week 16 against the
Kansas City Chiefs, Neal recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by wide receiver
Sammy Watkins on a trick play during the 17–14 loss.
Dallas Cowboys On April 14, 2021, Neal signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the
Dallas Cowboys, reuniting with
defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who was his head coach with the Falcons. He was switched to
weakside linebacker during
organized team activities in May. He appeared in 14 games with 5 starts, while missing 3 contests on the Reserve/
COVID-19 list. He registered 79 tackles (tied for third on the team), one sack and 2
special teams tackles. He had 13 tackles against the
Las Vegas Raiders.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers On April 6, 2022, Neal signed a one-year, $1.272 million contract with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, switching back to a more traditional role at
strong safety. He appeared in 17 games with 8 starts, after being thrust into action following
Logan Ryan's foot injury in Week Four. He posted 63 tackles (2 for loss), a half sack, one interception and 4 passes defensed.
Pittsburgh Steelers On April 4, 2023, Neal signed with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. On November 18, the Steelers placed him on injured reserve. On March 7, 2024, the Steelers released Neal after a failed physical.
Retirement On February 23, 2025, Neal announced his retirement from the NFL after not playing the entire 2024 season. == NFL career statistics ==