Giants QB Tommy DeVito benched because he’s not taking NFL job seriously, NY host says

Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to continue to bench Tommy DeVito is baffling ESPN New York’s Michael Kay.

After being benched for the second half in the team’s 33-25 loss against the Eagles in Week 16, Daboll went with Tyrod Taylor, not DeVito, in the Giants’ 26-25 loss against the Rams in Week 17. Though it’s not official, DeVito will likely sit on the bench again in New York’s final game of the season against Philadelphia.

Kay, who hosts “The Michael Kay Show,” provided his theory for why Daboll has lost faith in DeVito, whose six-game stretch as the Giants’ starting quarterback included numerous paid appearances and signings at various New Jersey establishments.

“Knowing how Daboll rocks, do you think he likes the fact that Tommy DeVito is cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame? He’s doing signings and going to restaurants. People are going to say that’s his off day anyway — not good enough,” Kay said in the first hour of his program on Tuesday. “If you want to be great in this league, do you think Tom Brady went and made appearances on the off day? No! He studied film every second of the day.

”So, when you’re at whatever restaurant or your taking pictures, do you think Daboll likes that? You don’t think that gets his attention? You’re getting a chance to be a quarterback in the NFL and you’re doing all these appearances on your day off rather than being at the complex watching tape over and over and over again. That’s what the great ones do. Steve Young once said, ‘You completely give up your life to this job.’”

DeVito, an undrafted quarterback out of Syracuse, played well after losing his first start 49-17 against the Cowboys in Week 10. He rolled off three consecutive wins against the Commanders, Patriots and Packers, completing 66 of 99 passes (66.7%) with seven touchdowns and one interception, a 105.7 quarterback rating in his first four games.

In eight games (six starts) this season, DeVito posted a 3-3 QB record, going 112-for-176 passing (63.6 completion percentage) with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. His 88.9 quarterback rating tops Daniel Jones’s (70.5) and Taylor’s (87.2), which leaves DeVito disappointed in coach Daboll’s decision.

“It hurts,” DeVito told reporters before Week 17′s game against the Rams. “That’s part of being a competitor, but at the same time, it’s part of the position, it’s part of the business, part of my job as of right now.”

Since then, he’s lost his touch, losing 24-6 to the Saints in Week 15 and sitting out the second half of Week 16 against the Eagles. In those two games, DeVito was 29 of 50 passing (58%) without a touchdown or an interception, a 69.7 quarterback rating.

The success of a rookie quarterback is often dictated by their supporting cast.

The Washington Commanders are widely expected to take a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and if that’s the route they choose to go, they’ll have two reliable weapons for them to throw to in receivers Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. With that tandem, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn believes they can help bring balance to the offense, which can help a rookie quarterback thrive from the jump.

“I think the whole thing at any position you wanna make sure are you surrounded,” Quinn said. “Do you have balance? Any quarterback’s best friend [is] the ability to hand it off some cause that’s where good play passes will come off of. If you have a strong run game [and] strong defense that can get the ball back, that’s for any quarterback that we want to have and be able to support a balanced attack. [We can have] big play passes off of it. I wouldn’t say it’s as specific just to our situation here. That’s really who we want to be all the time.”

The ability to run the ball will certainly buoy a rookie quarterback as well, but McLaurin and Dotson’s being able to get open will be imperative for setting them up for success. McLaurin has been one of the more consistent receivers in football, as he has had four straight seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Dotson showed flashes in his rookie season with 35 catches for 523 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns in 12 games in 2022. He took a step back last year despite playing a full season, though, inconsistent quarterback play impacted his production. Dotson caught 49 passes for 518 yards and four touchdowns in 2023.

If Dotson can take the next step in his third season and McLaurin continues to be a No. 1 receiver for the Commanders, and they have balance with a strong running game, a rookie quarterback will be set up to thrive the moment they step on the field. And if a rookie quarterback can do that in their first season thanks to having targets like McLaurin and Dotson, it’d be a sign Washington’s woes at the game’s most important position may finally be near its end.