If Thursday was the end of one of the unlikeliest chapters in Giants’ history, Tommy DeVito made it a memorable goodbye to his paisans.
Greeted warmly at the start of the second half by many of the same fans who once stood in meet-and-greet lines around the corner to pay about $200 for his autograph, the fourth-stringer DeVito completed 15 of his first 17 passes and threw three touchdowns in leading the Giants’ practice-squad hopefuls through the end of a 42-10 preseason victory against the Patriots.
“It means a lot,” the North Jersey product said. “The ovation. Stuff from Jersey. If I was in the stands, I’d be cheering for anybody who was the hometown kid, too. It felt good getting two whole quarters to play and feel the energy, excitement, and love for the game again.”
Once an undrafted rookie who had impressed Giants coaches at a pre-draft local tryout, DeVito became one of the most-viral players in the NFL during the 2023 season after he surprisingly beat the Packers in primetime for his third straight win, talked openly about living with his parents so that he could feast on his mother’s homemade chicken cutlets and celebrated touchdown passes with a pinched-fingers homage to his Italian heritage.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
