Coach Brian Daboll has not revealed his personnel plans for the game against the Jets. But it will be the third year in a row that these teams have faced each other in the final preseason game. Jones has missed the previous two games. Lock has not played for the team since his injury. And Daboll said the Giants will not sign a quarterback for the game.
He said no one told him if he was in the running for the second quarterback spot when the season begins Sept. 8 against Minnesota. An undrafted rookie in 2023, DeVito began the season on the practice squad and was promoted to the roster for three games before joining the roster permanently on Oct. 29. With Jones and Tyrod Taylor both injured, DeVito went 3-3 in six starts.
“I know people get hurt, people get banged up, but for me it’s just about coming out here and competing,” he said. “I don’t know how the cards are going to fall in any way, shape or form, but I’m only in control of myself. Early last year in practice, I was just focusing on myself, my craft, the offense and throwing myself into it. And then when I got thrown in, obviously that changed a little bit. You focus more on the plays, not so much on the little things and fine-tuning the mechanics here and there.”
There’s also the possibility that Lock will be ready to play next week and the Giants will keep only two quarterbacks on the active roster, as they did in Daboll’s first two seasons. The Giants risk losing DeVito if they release him with the intention of signing him to the practice squad.
“I honestly feel similar (to how he felt a year ago),” he said. “It’s the same thing. It’s not my decision. It’s out of my hands. So for me, it’s just about every time I step on the field, continuing to step up and show why I proved to myself in the first place that I belong in the NFL somewhere. Honestly, I want to be with the Giants, but when I’m out there on the field, I just keep trying to go out there and get better every game and every day.”
DeVito became one of the NFL’s best stories and a Giants fan favorite in his debut season. He completed 114 of 178 passes (64.0%) for 1,101 yards, scored a team-high eight touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 89.2. He enters the 2024 season without throwing an interception in his last 139 pass attempts. DeVito also ran for 195 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries.
For three consecutive weeks (Weeks 11–14, excluding Week 13, the bye week), DeVito posted a passer rating of over 100, making him the first UDFA rookie since 1970 to play three consecutive games with a passer rating of over 100. He was the first Giants quarterback since Eli Manning in 2014 to play three consecutive games with a passer rating of over 100, and the first Giants rookie quarterback to win three consecutive games since Phil Simms won four consecutive games in 1979.
DeVito said he can run the offense more confidently this year and makes decisions “much quicker” than he did as a rookie.
“I think Tommy had a great training camp,” Jones said. “Obviously he’s throwing the ball well and trusting his arm, his accuracy. It’s paying off because he’s making a lot of great throws. I feel like he’s getting more and more comfortable on offense and seeing the defense, understanding what they’re playing and reading his assessments.”
Although Lock and DeVito are competing for the title of the Giants’ second quarterback, they have become close friends. In fact, all three quarterbacks have formed an alliance.
“When we first met, we hit it off right away,” DeVito said of him and Lock. “We have the same interests, as does DJ. They’re both 27 and I’m 26, even though I’m in my fifth or sixth year and I’m in my second. DJ and Drew have known each other for a long time, so they had already built a relationship, and then Drew and I built one through our OTAs and got together, and I think the room is in a really good place right now.”
“We have a lot of fun together there,” Jones said. “We help each other out on the field, talk about what we see, what we feel, and then off the field just hang out. One of the best parts of training camp is just spending time with your teammates in the room, and the quarterback room is always special.”
DeVito knows something will be different than last year.
“The outside noise will be less,” he said.
Furthermore, he is not sure what will happen in the short term.
“If the situation is the same as last year or if it’s a different role, I’ll still be here and do my thing day by day,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
*The Giants and Jets faced each other for 51 consecutive summers (1969-2019) before the NFL canceled the 2020 preseason due to the pandemic. The Jets have won all three games since the series resumed in 2021 and lead 28-25-1. The tie came in 1972. Last year the Jets won 32-24.
