Tommy DeVito’s rise to stardom could have come straight out of a Disney script, complete with the lovable Italian family and an agent with a personality as verbose as his wardrobe.
But after the Giants signed Drew Lock to a one-year contract on Tuesday, could this be the end of DeVito’s time with Big Blue?
Lock and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal that is fully guaranteed, meaning the team would be hard-pressed to cut Lock and it essentially pins the former Broncos and Seahawks QB as the backup to presumptive starter Daniel Jones.
While DeVito, who was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent last offseason, is under contract for 2024, it isn’t clear whether the Giants would want to carry three quarterbacks, and if they did, whether that would mean it would be because they’ve selected one in the NFL draft next month.
DeVito’s story has been told countless times since he made his debut against the Jets last Oct. 29, when he was barely allowed to throw the ball.
There was another appearance the week after in a loss to the Raiders before the Don Bosco Prep product made six consecutive starts for the Giants and won three straight games — victories over Washington, New England and Green Bay — during the dismal 2023 campaign.
The surprise success led to a surge of publicity and popularity for DeVito, whose local roots resonated with Giants fans, leading to various public appearances, back-page headlines and sponsorship deals.
But similar to the run of Jeremy Lin with the Knicks years before, the 15 minutes of fame faded and DeVito struggled on the field toward the end of the season, leading to a benching halfway through the Giants’ Week 16 loss to the Eagles and starting on the bench in Week 17 and Week 18.
DeVito called 2023 a “roller coaster” in the days leading up to the Giants’ final game of the year, but concluded that “there’s been a lot of good in there.”
He also said back in January that he wasn’t sure what his offseason plan would be.
“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do when the season is over,’’ DeVito said. “That’s something I’ll think more about next week and the weeks after, but I’ve already talked to some of the older guys about how to go about it.”
But things could be changing for DeVito depending on the Giants’ plans over the next few weeks.
General manager Joe Schoen did not rule out the Giants taking a quarterback in next month’s draft either when he addressed reporters at the combine in Indianapolis.
“It’s a good quarterback draft,’’ Schoen said last month. “It’s not just at the top. There are some guys that are mid-levels that I think will be good No. 2s. There are some guys that can be No. 3s in the draft.’’
There has been plenty of speculation too over the Giants’ happiness with Jones, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear that limited him to just six games in 2023.
There are a lot of factors that could come into play for the position, but Lock’s addition has put DeVito’s Giants’ future very much in flux.
