Jaelan Phillips injury return from Achilles for Miami Dolphins
Jaelan Phillips returns to practice for Miami Dolphins
MIAMI GARDENS – When Siran Neal arrived in South Florida this spring, having played the first six seasons of his career in Buffalo, he was finding things a bit fast-paced.
A conversation with a good friend convinced him it was time to slow down a bit.
So Neal pulled out a paint brush.
“I started painting this year,” said Neal, a Miami Dolphins defensive back.
One glance at a few of Neal’s impressive paintings makes that hard to believe.
“But I’ve been actually drawing, coloring, a lot of that stuff since like second grade,” Neal told the Palm Beach Post after a training camp practice Monday. “I used to always win a drawing contest, a coloring contest, all that.”
Neal’s paintings are so good he’s been approached about if he’d be willing to showcase or sell.
Siran (pronounced SIR-ran) has posed with a few of his paintings on his Instagram account, @siranneal.
A red painting of Jesus Christ in thorns immediately jumps out.
“I’ve leaned more to Christ,” Neal said of a renewed religious commitment. “So I go to church. That day I went back home and I had a blank canvas on my wall, sit on the floor and I just started painting. I just wanted that spirit to be in my house. Basically, with that one, I painted it red. It’s like the blood of Jesus. Keeping that in my house. Keep good spirits around.”
Miami Dolphins‘ Siran Neal is a very talented artist
Neal, 30, is a native of Dothan, Alabama, who played at Jacksonville State.
Neal was drafted by Buffalo in the fifth round in 2018. He’s an outstanding special teams contributor who has shown he can capably man cornerback or safety when called upon.
Neal is a very physical player. And football is a very physical game.
How does painting align with that?
“Peace,” Neal said. “I found my peace in painting. I was real quiet. You know, with fine lines, you know what I’m saying, the struggle of the art. Artwork with your arms and your hands and stuff. It was just… And the thing is, it like slowed my mind down. It’s pretty fast-paced out here, but when I get in there, everything is slow. It’s on my time, so I have to come out the best way as possible.”
Neal has some versatility, on and off the field.
Another very intriguing painting Neal has been photographed with is an abstract take of a woman.
“It was basically like mixed emotions about what the blind eye sees,” Neal said. “You know what I’m saying? Like women, you know what I’m saying? Never know what they’re going through. You know, you have mixed emotions. You can look good on the outside and be torn on the inside. That’s what it was.”
Neal said he’s focused more now than ever on being a good family man, and father, and follower of Christ.
For Neal, painting is a healthy escape. And it turns out, he’s really quite good.
“I had a lot of people actually ask me if I could sell some, but at the moment, right now, I’m keeping all of them,” Neal said. “But I’m pretty sure it’s starting to be a lot in the house. Right now, I’ve got like seven. I wanted to start another one the other day… but I got kind of busy.”
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
