Last November, rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito took New York and, to a certain extent, the NFL by storm. He embraced the Italian traditions. Given that Italians are the last ethnic group (I’m a 23andMe card-carrying member) that can still be lampooned with babbada-boopy accents and exaggerated hand gestures, there was (and still is) a fine line between tradition and stereotype.
This year, DeVito has returned to No. 3 on the depth chart, behind Daniel Jones and Drew Lock. But the ESPN.com NFL page currently features an article about the third-stringer, with a headline that raises the question of whether he’s “inching toward another opportunity this year.”
It feels inevitable that Jones will be benched at some point, given that he has a $23 million injury guarantee for 2025. But Lock, not DeVito, is the next man up. Lock would have to get injured or stink to open the door for DeVito.
That’s what happened last year. First Jones was injured, then Tyrod Taylor. DeVito was the next man up after the first two men went down. And even though he started six games last year, the Giants weren’t ready to make him the backup to Jones.
“I know it’s a business,” DeVito said for the ESPN item, regarding the decision to sign Lock. “So I understood it, I guess, a little bit.”
He understood it “a little bit.” Which means he also didn’t understand it, maybe a lot.
“The competitiveness in myself, knowing in my head, I thought I had done that or gave a spark or glimpse of what could be, but I knew I was just a rookie,” DeVito said. "[The Giants] probably wanted a guy who had a little more experience. That’s kind of the path that they went, but we’ll see how it goes moving forward.”
How it goes is he’s No. 3. He gets on the field if the guys in front of him are injured or fail. As Lock explains it, DeVito understands where he fits.
“I think we understand this guy’s the No. 1, this guy’s a [backup], this guy’s a [third-string QB],” Lock said. “Opportunities will come for one of us, maybe two of us, maybe three of us. And we want the best for everybody that goes in there and plays. There’s a lot of rooms that don’t handle it that way.”
Given DeVito’s local popularity, it’s fair to wonder whether the fans will want Lock or DeVito, if/when Jones is benched. The ESPN article doesn’t come out and say it, but it’s lurking between the lines.
For now, DeVito is lurking at the bottom of the depth chart. If/when the time comes to bench Jones, it’ll be interesting to see whether they turn to Lock — or whether DeVito gets a chance to make the Giants gabbagool again.
