Exclusive | Giants Tommy DeVito prepared to bring F It playing style to next NFL chance
The football adage that the most popular guy in town is the backup quarterback doesn’t apply to the Giants.The most popular guy – at least among a portion of the win-starved fan base – is the backup to the backup quarterback.Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Tommy DeVito’s first NFL touchdown pass, which was the beginning of the tri-state mania that injected life into a dead season for the Giants.As an undrafted rookie raised in Cedar Grove, N.J., DeVito made six starts and developed a cult following that formed huge autograph lines at his appearances and copied his Italian-roots homage pinched-fingers touchdown celebration.“It was a roller coaster, but it was a ton of fun,” DeVito told The Post.
“It hit me most at Christmas, where I probably got tagged and messaged no joke about 500 times with pictures of little kids opening my jersey.Parents are sending them to my parents.
That was probably the coolest part for me.”DeVito, 26, hasn’t taken a snap or been activated for a game this season.If the Giants bench Daniel Jones – the $23 million injury guarantee in his contract combined with a 2-7 record soon could force their hand – Drew Lock is up next.The Giants have started the process of moving on from Jones after the season, but both Lock and DeVito are free agents.Lock is a trusted veteran backup with 23 career starts.
DeVito, who moved out of his parents’ home in the offseason, is confident he will get another chance to start somewhere in the future. “I feel good about it,” DeVito said.“My mindset, my work ethic, the way I’m going to keep progressing as time goes on, it’s only going to make me better.”For now, DeVito is working behind the scenes to make sure that he is ready if opportunity knocks again over the final eight games.
He asked a question in Friday’s meetings that made quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney see a different argument to an offensive concept versus a specific defensive coverage.“I started off...