Is Tommy DeVito a snitch?
The favorite son of North Jersey — who was claimed off waivers from the Giants by the Patriots at the end of training camp — is expected to be inactive for the 13th straight game Monday against his former team.
He is the third-string quarterback behind Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs.
So, there hasn’t been a chicken cutlet craze in the “North End” of Boston or autograph hounds lined up for his attention like when DeVito was playing for the Giants and became an icon to the Italian subset of the fan base.
“I loved my time there,” DeVito told MassLive.com. “When I was there, it was, ‘Go Giants’ but now it’s ‘Go Pats’ all the way. I hope we blow them out.”
Plot twist!
Will DeVito flip and share the intel he has on the Giants?
All is fair in football and war.
“I can help player breakdowns and give my two cents here and there,” said DeVito, who declined noti.group’s interview request through a team spokesperson. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
Jameis Winston suspects that DeVito already has helped Maye’s development into a star.
“When you have Tommy DeVito in your room, you get a little extra swag,” Winston quipped. “You get some street cred instantly when you have DeVito around you.”
Jaxson Dart, Winston and Russell Wilson all joined the Giants in the offseason, making DeVito expendable.
There was a roster spot on the practice squad to offer if he cleared waivers, but DeVito opened eyes by lighting up the Patriots in the preseason finale.
DeVito, who will be a restricted free agent after the season, went 3-5 with eight touchdown passes and three interceptions over two seasons in New York.
“DeVito, in my opinion, is a starter in this league,” interim coach Mike Kafka said. “Always brought energy. A guy that I’m proud of for where he began — as a tryout-type guy — and stepping up and learning to be a pro. When he got his opportunity, he took advantage of it. Won some big games for us.”
DT Dexter Lawrence (elbow) and CB Paulson Adebo (knee) were not given injury designations and will play.
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) is out for the third straight game.
Could he miss the rest of the season?
“I think it’s too soon to tell,” Kafka said. “He’s working his tail off to get back and get better. Our doctors are taking care of him.”
CB Korie Black (biceps), LB Swayze Bozeman (hip), OLB Victor Dimukeje (knee) and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck/knee) are listed as questionable.
Defensive line coach Andre Patterson was bypassed for interim defensive coordinator when Kafka promoted Charlie Bullen to replace fired Shane Bowen.
Patterson was Vikings co-defensive coordinator in 2020-21.
“That never crossed my mind,” Patterson said. “A big part of it is I’m loyal to Shane. That’s No. 1. No. 2, I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve seen all kinds of weird things happen. My first thought process went to, ‘How do we keep the players motivated, excited and ready to go play?’
“When Kafka made the decision on which way he wanted to go, I accepted it. I’m going to help [Bullen] out the best way I can because it doesn’t validate who I am as a coach. I’ve been there, I’ve done it, I’ve had success doing it. The Giants chose what they thought was the best way to go. That’s their choice. It’s not mine. A 32-year-old Dre probably wouldn’t have handled it very well. A 65-year-old Dre understands how life goes.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
