The New York Giants are starting hometown boy and quarterback Tommy DeVito for their game Sunday, November 24, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The move comes after benching franchise quarterback Daniel Jones and passing up backup quarterback Drew Lock to go with DeVito as their No. 2 guy.
Now, Giants players are opening up about the quarterback change, and DeVito is also talking about replacing Jones.
New York Giants Players Welcome Tommy DeVito
As media entered the Giants locker room on Wednesday, November 20, Giants players cheered “Tommy Cutlets” from the top of their lungs.
Media personality Madelyn Burke shared video footage of the greeting on X.
https://twitter.com/MadelynBurke/status/1859325542979260781
When asked about his relationship with the now benched Jones, DeVito said, “He’s been a very close teammate to me, especially last year when he took me under his wings, still to this day. Even in meetings with me today, kind of going through everything with me, sorting out some little detail things. If he sees something, correcting it and helping me out in any way, shape or form.”
When asked about his message to teammates starting in the Bucs game, DeVito replied, “Same thing as it was last year. I’m going to give you everything I can on the field. My heart and soul is into it, all the time, leading up to the preparation and ultimately going out and playing on game day, which is what I most enjoy doing.”
While there was celebrating on bringing DeVito onto the starting quarterback position, some players paid tribute to Jones.
When asked about Jones being benched, teammate Darius Slayton said, “Obviously first he’s a friend, so you don’t want anyone to end up in the predicament that he’s in. I’ll support him and be there for him in any way, shape, or form.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux added, “That’s the nature of the beast. You know, when you’re 2-8 and things are changing – every position is up for grabs honestly.”
Bobby Okereke said, “You rally around your teammates. Obviously a tough situation, we all get paid, we all take a lot of pride in this business. You move forward and we have a great opportunity this week.”
Of course, this isn’t DeVito’s first time starting for the Giants. He started six games in 2023 and went 3-3.
Giants HC Brian Daboll Talks Tommy DeVito
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll dropped the news of DeVito starting in the Bucs game on Monday, November 18, telling all three Giants quarterbacks the news.
“I spoke with all the quarterbacks this morning before our morning meeting and let them know the direction that we’re going,” Daboll told the media on Monday. “Those are never easy conversations. Got a lot of respect for all three of those guys.”
He added, “After evaluating a bunch of things and looking at a lot of tape and being around Tommy last year where he created a little bit of a spark for us, that’s the reason why we’re going with Tommy. Drew will be the backup. Continue to work with him. He’s been nothing but a pro and as was Daniel (Jones). It’s never an easy conversation to have with the players. But felt like this was a necessary move for us and look forward to working with Tommy and getting him ready to go against Tampa.”
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Giants’ Tommy DeVito Breaks Silence on Replacing Daniel Jones