Daniel Jones was taking snaps as the New York Giants started getting ready for their Sunday game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But this time, there was something different.
The 27-year-old Jones was catching a football thrown underhanded to him by an equipment manager and either handing it off to a running back or rolling out to the right to throw a pass to a coach standing still. This was nothing new for Jones, who has been with the Giants for over five years since being drafted as the No. 6 overall pick in 2019.
However, on Wednesday, there was one big change: Jones was last in the quarterback rotation, behind Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock.
He was now the third-string quarterback.
With just seven games left this season, the Giants (2-8) are now DeVito’s team. After being the third quarterback all season, DeVito is now the No. 1 quarterback and is being asked to lead the team and end their five-game losing streak.
DeVito and Lock spoke to reporters on Wednesday. DeVito said the quarterbacks are close, and he felt for Jones after the decision, as well as for Lock, who was passed over in favor of DeVito.
DeVito, a New Jersey native who grew up just 20 minutes from MetLife Stadium, plans to focus solely on football for the next two months. He is downplaying his love of chicken parm sandwiches—referred to as “Tommy Cutlets”—and anything else not related to the game.
“Last year was a good story,” DeVito said. “It was kind of like how it happened, but all the fun and games outside, it was fun, it was last year, I’m kind of over that, I’m sticking to football now, not that I wasn’t before, but really focused on that, the external stuff will be on pause.”
DeVito mentioned that he has his close friends and family to keep things grounded and stay focused on football every Sunday.
DeVito feels he is a smarter player since last season and plans to avoid mistakes like holding the ball too long and taking sacks.
“I bring a certain confidence, energy, swag, whatever you call it, to the team, to the people around me,” he said. “I think I’ve kind of always had that growing up from when I was even younger, so I kind of just bring that energy.”
DeVito also shared some advice he received earlier in the season from Bret Bielema, his former coach at Illinois. Bielema had texted him to be ready because the moment would come, and it did for DeVito, while Lock, who was the second-string quarterback all season after joining the team as a free agent, didn’t get that opportunity.
Lock said he disagreed with the decision to move DeVito ahead of him, and he told coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen how he felt. However, Lock also said he would support DeVito and help him as much as he could.
“If you get to be the backup all year and the time comes and you end up still being a backup, you’re upset,” Lock said.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who was also drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2019, understands the situation.
“Definitely hard, but I’ve been a part of this business,” said Lawrence, who saw fellow defensive lineman Leonard Williams traded last season to Seattle. “It’s part of the business and I understand that part of it. And like I said before, I feel for Daniel, works hard, great dude, relatable.”
Lawrence added that DeVito showed promise last season in six games, and he trusts him and is excited to see what DeVito can do.
