Tommy DeVito understood that Thursday night could have been the last time he plays quarterback for the New York Giants. He certainly made the most of it.
DeVito led three consecutive touchdown drives while playing the entire second half against the New England Patriots, and completed 17 of 20 passes for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns. He received a warm ovation from the sparse MetLife Stadium crowd when he entered the game in the third quarter.
“It was a lot of fun,” DeVito said. “It’s been a little while since I’ve gotten some good time to be able to go in there and play. The first preseason was two drives, just about; last one was one drive.
“So to be able to have not a set amount of time, felt good to be able to go out there and play football again.”
DeVito certainly knows what could be coming with teams having to cut from 90 to 53 players by Tuesday, Aug. 26th at 4 p.m. ET.
“I think about that in the sense of every time you go on the field you never know what’s going to be your last,” DeVito said. “Having the rollercoaster I’ve had in the past with injuries and playing performance, whatever it is, every time I go out, I try to put my all because never know when it is going to be your last.”
DeVito finished the preseason 30 of 38 for 323 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception and a passer rating of 126.2. Still, with Russell Wilson, Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston on the Giants’ roster, he is QB4. There has reportedly been interest from teams in acquiring Winston, but the Giants do not appear intent on doing that.
That would leave DeVito, a former undrafted free agent who became a darling of the fan base and a national celebrity during an unlikely three-game winning streak in 2023, as the odd man out.
Perhaps he played well enough on Thursday that teams will be calling Giants GM Joe Schoen and offering late-round draft compensation in exchange for the 27-year-old.
If that doesn’t happen, and the Giants don’t receive an overwhelming offer for Winston that they can’t refuse, DeVito seems destined for the waiver wire. In that scenario, he could have to choose between joining another team’s 53-man roster, or staying home in New Jersey where he was a high school football hero by signing to the Giants’ practice squad.
DeVito said Thursday he has not spent “too much” thinking about that.
“All my focus, obviously a lot of things like that weighing down as the time gets closer,” he said. “But for me it was really focusing on this game. Obviously said it last year, any time you go on the field, no matter where you are, especially being undrafted, you’re performing for all other 31 organizations as well. It’s important to do that and be where your feet are. Right now, this is where I am, so that’s what I’m going to do each day in and day out. I’ll let my agent and everything else handle itself if that time were to come.”
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