Tommy DeVito was, briefly, a sensation for the New York Giants. The undrafted free agent burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2023, riding gritty play and leaning into his Italian-American heritage to become a minor icon around the Giants’ northern New Jersey home.
This was very unexpected, because DeVito’s college career was marred with inconsistent play before his 2022 transfer to the University of Illinois. While he maintained his status as an efficient, not prolific passer — he barely averaged 150 yards per game in his six starts for New York — his value as a turnover-averse scrambler made him a useful backup for a team with significant quarterback issues.
Now it seems those issues could bump him up the Giants’ depth chart.
"I would GUESS Daniel Jones never plays another snap for the Giants" – @AdamSchefter with us on @UnSportsESPN @ESPNNewYork @880ESPNNewYork
— Evan Cohen (@EvCoRadio) November 12, 2024
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Daniel Jones’s status in New York is very much in question. The former sixth overall pick has endured more downs than ups in his Giants career, but his solid 2022 — highlighted by a playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings — earned him a four-year, $160 million contract extension in hopes he could sustain his efficient play under head coach Brian Daboll. Injuries and general incompetence made that impossible. Now it seems he’ll head to the bench to avoid an injury that could guarantee the 2025 salary New York’s management would badly like to shed.
That’s good news for DeVito’s playing time prospects, but Tommy Cutlets isn’t in the clear yet. Like in 2023, he’s going to need a second Giants quarterback sidelined to earn playing time. Last winter, that was Tyrod Taylor, who suffered a rib injury that landed him on injured reserve. This time, it’ll be Drew Lock, who signed with New York last offseason.
Lock is a big-armed pocket passer who was considered a borderline first round talent coming out of the University of Missouri. He slid to the second round and a quarterback-hungry Denver Broncos team, but couldn’t secure the starting job there. After three seasons, he was shipped to the Seattle Seahawks in Denver’s ill-fated Russell Wilson trade. Lock failed to beat out Geno Smith for a starting role in Seattle, re-signed with the team to serve as backup in 2023 and headed east to New Jersey last spring.
That’s all to say DeVito still has a reasonable shot at playing time. He’s not exactly a hot prospect — he’s only two years younger than Lock, who entered the league in 2019 — but his vibes are unmatched. With the postseason effectively out of reach (ESPN gives New York a less than one percent shot to make the playoffs), the Giants could opt for the guy who makes fans happy over the one that gives them the best chance to win.
Any shift beyond Jones’s demotion likely won’t come immediately, however. The world at large may have to wait until December to get another taste of this magic.
