Tommy DeVito deserves to be in the NFL. He deserves to be in the NFL. I want him to play for the New York Giants, just a few miles from his parents’ home in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Tommy Catletts won’t play in Peoria. Tommy Catletts will play great here in our backyard.
Unless Daniel Jones or Drew Lock suffer a serious injury, there is no place for him in the Joe Sean-Brian-Daboll-Inn and the party line is that he will simply be on the practice squad again once he clears waivers, the same terms he was on last preseason, before we got to know him as Tommy Cattletz.
That doesn’t matter.
Keep him.
Don’t expose him to anyone else.
He played in a 14-3 win over the Lions in the preseason opener on a rainy Thursday night at WetLife Stadium, pleading his case to anyone smart enough to continue to believe in him as a backup quarterback.
“It’s not my first NFL game anymore,” DeVito said.
That much was clear to Daboll.
“He’s getting better,” Daboll said. “I think he’s got the offense under control. His teammates have a lot of confidence in him, I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s really grown a lot since he’s been here, and I want him to continue to grow.”
“Quarterbacks are hard to find in this league… I know he’s got a long way to go, but he’s smart, he’s accurate, he makes good decisions. He’s a good young guy to work with.”
With 2 minutes and 3 seconds remaining in the first period, cheers erupted as DeVito came off the Giants bench to replace Lock (hip), who was unable to play due to an injury.
The revival of Tommy Cutlets.
People’s choice.
“I want to thank all my fans for their love and support,” DeVito said with a smile.
Lock’s lackluster night (4-of-10 completions for 17 yards and one interception) ended with two incomplete passes to a completely free Malik Neighbors that were intercepted. Call Daniel Jones. Call Daniel Jones. Lock rolled to his right on Neighbors’ third and final series and threw the ball out of bounds, not at all like new play caller Brian Daboll had pictured.
Coach Daboll prefers to fearlessly throw passes into tight windows rather than closing the ones the quarterback opens.
DeVito (8-of-15 for 92 yards) isn’t a player with a $5 million free-agent contract. He’s a lock. He’s a 2023 undrafted free agent out of Syracuse and Illinois who is saving up money while eating his mother’s cooking.
But DeVito was a player who played with courage and pitched with authority, accuracy and touch.
Lock was like a fish out of water in his first year with the offense.
DeVito, directing the operation, looked like a shark.
“Every day is a step in the right direction,” DeVito said.
He overthrew Allen Robinson on his first pass (an apparent miscommunication), then completed a 24-yard pass to running back Eric Gray, then completed a 16-yard pass over the middle to tight end Tyree Jackson, then immediately congratulated Gray on his ankle-breaking 48-yard touchdown run against co-practice partner Morris Norris.
Starting at the Detroit 37, DeVito threw a 13-yard checkdown pass to Gray, then threw an 18-yard pass to Jackson to the 1, putting Gray in position for a 1-yard touchdown run. The score was Giants 14, Lions 3.
He scolded himself for sliding a yard short on third down and one yard, then convinced Daboll to hand the ball off on fourth down and one yard gain. He then took two deep shots but missed the hit.
Just nine months ago, Catletts was a cult-hero quarterback who celebrated touchdowns by pinching his fingers, enchanted fans and took the stage by storm on the biggest and brightest of Monday night, leading the Giants to a dramatic third straight win against the Packers.
He signed an endorsement deal while it was hot, before the fairytale clock struck 12, and served as Tyrod Taylor’s backup at the end of the season.
His mission tonight against the Lions was to remind the Giants, and indeed the entire NFL, that he could be a brave, confident and fearless leader, and he did just that.
