NFL Exec: Tommy DeVito as QB1 over Drew Lock ‘Made Less Sense Than Anything’ in 2024

The New York Giants made the somewhat surprising move to promote Tommy DeVito and not Drew Lock to the starting quarterback position after demoting and eventually releasing Daniel Jones.

That move raised eyebrows around the NFL, seeing as the Giants paid Lock $5 million in the offseason to serve as the backup and then kept him in the No. 2 role for the entire season, while DeVito was inactive until this past Sunday as the No. 3 option.

“That move made less sense than anything that has happened in the league this season,” one executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic.

DeVito, a New Jersey native, became a popular player during the 2023 season, going 3-3 as the starter after Jones was lost for the year with a torn ACL while earning the moniker “Tommy Cutlets.” Did the Giants simply choose to start him to drum up some fan interest, especially with former fan favorite Saquon Barkley now thriving on the Philadelphia Eagles after leaving in free agency?

“It has to be the owner trying to drum up some local support playing off of last year’s success,” an offensive coach told Sando.

Success is doing some heavy lifting here. DeVito did throw for 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions during nine total appearances in 2023 (six starts), completing 64 percent of his passes. And he threw for 595 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in his three wins as the starter.

But the defense also held teams to just 16 points per game in those wins and secured a whopping 12 turnovers, which undoubtedly played a huge role in that three-game winning streak. And the Giants eventually returned the starting job to Tyrod Taylor to close the season, which wasn’t exactly a resounding endorsement for the play of Tommy Cutlets.

Given all of the context here, it’s hard not to take a cynical view on New York’s decision to start DeVito on Sunday rather than Lock. The move certainly didn’t appear justified on the field—DeVito threw for 189 yards and took four sacks in a 30-7 loss that saw the team only muster 245 yards of total offense.

Meanwhile, Barkley had 302 yards from scrimmage later that night, all on his own, during a win over the Los Angeles Rams. In a season that has already been brutal for Giants fans and the organization alike, Sunday was a new low.