Why is Daniel Jones still the starting quarterback of the New York Giants? That's the No. 1 question fans of the struggling 2-6 franchise should be asking themselves, especially when there's a proven spark plug on the bench named Tommy DeVito.
Is DeVito a superstar? Will he be the next Patrick Mahomes? Absolutely not. DeVito is a fun kid to root for, though, and if anything, the Giants need to give their fans something to root for. Heck, even the New York Jets can make a case that they have more hope than the Giants right now, and they fired their head coach, Robert Saleh, after Week 5.
The Giants are on a three-game losing skid that's threatening to become a four-game streak, with the feisty Washington Commanders up next in Week 9. The Giants need to give DeVito a chance in this one because Jones clearly isn't “it,” and Drew Lock isn't the answer either.
It's time to give it to the backup-to-the-backup and see what he can do once again.
Daniel Jones has been terrible for the Giants
Let's just call this one a wrap. The Giants took Jones with the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was drafted by former general manager Dave Gettleman, and his first few seasons came under the failed reins of head coaches Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge. Even though the Giants have a completely new GM, Joe Schoen, and head coach, Brian Daboll, it did make sense for the brass to want to hold on to Jones for a little longer. After all, he wasn't given much to work with under Gettleman, Shurmur, and Judge.
Jones' time in New York has been an abject failure, though. A torn right ACL took most of Jones' 2023 season, but he threw two touchdowns compared to six interceptions in the six games he did play. So far this season, he's thrown for 1,706 yards and six touchdowns with five interceptions.
This experiment is over. Jones may become a career backup and have a successful latter half of his career, but he's not a legitimate NFL starter. No amount of real potential has been drawn out of that stone.
Tommy DeVito has proven he can win for the Giants
Again, DeVito is not going to be the second coming of Mahomes or even Eli Manning, for that matter, but he has proven to be a capable player in Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka's system.
DeVito won three straight games for the Giants in 2023, which included wins over the Commanders, New England Patriots, and playoff-bound Green Bay Packers. His game against the Packers, specifically, was impressive. Yes, it came against a playoff team, and that was the big takeaway. It was also on “Monday Night Football,” and DeVito led a game-winning field goal drive. He proved that the moment wasn't too big for him, and during that stretch, he became a mini-icon of sorts for the Giants' fanbase.
For some reason, though, the Giants went out this offseason and gave Lock, a six-year veteran, a nearly $5 million guaranteed one-year contract to backup Jones. That relegated DeVito, perhaps the best thing to happen to the Giants in the last two seasons, to the third string.
“I mean, it's like anything else. I know it's a business. So I understood it, I guess, a little bit. 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. [The Giants] probably wanted a guy who had a little more experience,” DeVito said of being dropped down the depth chart in favor of Lock, per ESPN.
DeVito clearly understood the business aspect of it, but again, Lock has proven to be uninspiring in his two appearances this season. He's completed 3-of-8 attempts for six years. Meanwhile, the Giants have a guy on their depth chart who completed 17-of-21 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown while rushing 10 times for 71 yards in a win against the Packers in primetime.
Why not give him a shot? He clearly has the juice, and that's something that can't be said for just about anyone else in this Giants franchise at the moment.
At the very least, he's ready at a moment's notice. The moment isn't too big for him, and the moments are always big in New York.
“Every step of the way, there is always something there,” DeVito said. “So overcoming obstacles … I just keep my head down, work and be ready. Similar situation to last year where you're the No. 3 [quarterback]. You never know what's going to happen. Be ready to roll when it's time to roll. That's it.”
Be ready to roll when it's time to roll. That's DeVito through and through.
Start him.
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