In all likelihood, New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito played his final snaps as a Giant on Thursday night when he turned in a rather impressive showing in the team’s preseason finale against the New England Patriots.
But unfortunately for DeVito, as the current depth chart stands, he’d be the fourth quarterback behind starter Russell Wilson, backup Jameis Winston, and future starter Jaxson Dart, thus making DeVito the clear odd man out, right?
Logic says yes, but if you’re Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who believes–and he can’t be the only NFL general manager who believes this–that the quarterback position is the most important one on the team, you don’t just let a quarterback who has shown that he can win games for you and who is coming off a rather impressive preseason showing in which, per data from Pro Football Focus, ranked 17th league among quarterbacks wide in accurate throws (21.1%), hit the waiver wire and not get anything in return.
If you’re Schoen, you probably look to keep DeVito at the final cutdown date, thereby crushing all the hopes of those teams who have quarterback issues of varying degrees, and you hold out for a trade partner willing to give you at least a high Day 3 pick next year and a potential conditional pick the year after.
That said, here is a look at five teams that would probably welcome DeVito on their squad as a QB2 if a mutually beneficial deal can be worked out.
The Raiders have Geno Smith locked in as a starter, but word just came out that their backup, Aidan O’Connell, fractured his wrist in the team’s preseason finale and will miss 6-8 weeks of the season.
That leaves them with 2025 sixth-round draft pick Cam Miller as the current understudy to Smith. While Smith might eventually develop into a solid signal caller, if I’m the Raiders, I’m on the phone ASAP with the Giants about acquiring DeVito.
Eventually, the Saints are looking to start rookie Tyler Shough as their franchise quarterback, but it looks as though they’re going to roll with Spencer Rattler in the interim. Their only other quarterback on their depth chart is Jake Haener, who, of the three Saints signal callers, had the worst completion percentage (61.1%) in his limited snaps.
Just as the Giants sought to take it slow with Jaxson Dart’s development, if the Saints were to acquire DeVito, he could serve in a similar role, in which he’d give New Orleans a fallback plan should Rattler, who looks like he might be named the starter, struggle, and should Shough not be ready for the bright lights.
A Danny Dimes-Tommy Cutlets reunion?
Sure, why not? The Colts named former Giants starter Daniel Jones as the winner of their quarterback competition, pushing one-time first-round pick Anthony Richardson out of the picture and potentially off the team should the Colts be looking to move on from their disappointing first-round pick.
DeVito’s working with Jones could make for an interesting dynamic, more so than Jones and Richardson. And DeVito would be a far better option than Riley Leonard and Jason Bean, who round out Indy’s quarterback room.
The Titans lost backup Will Levis for the season, leaving Brandon Allen and Trevor Siemian to back up projected starter Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
Not only would DeVito be an upgrade talent-wise, but again, there is the experience and mentoring factor that would undoubtedly be an attractive trait for a team that has a young quarterback at the helm.
The Browns have already named 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco as their starter. Still, behind him, there is a dropoff in experienced talent that’s steeper than the depths of the Grand Canyon, starting with Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
If the Browns want to ensure they’re going to remain competitive this season, having a quarterback like DeVito on the roster might not be such a bad idea if they’re willing to try to slide one of Pickett, Gabriel, or Sanders to the practice squad.
The Giants, as has been noted several times, are not getting any comp picks in next year’s draft. They do have seven picks, thanks to picking up an extra sixth-rounder in the Darren Waller trade to Miami, but New York is a little light on Day 2, holding just a second-rounder after having sent Houston their third-round pick in the Jaxson Dart trade.
No one is suggesting that DeVito could bring a third-round pick, but stranger things have happened. But in short, it would be a total disappointment if the Giants, assuming they are moving on from DeVito, don’t get something in return for him.
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