Patriots
“I hear there’s a lot of good Italian food, so I’m looking forward to trying it out and embracing all the culture around here.”
It didn’t take long for former Giants QB Tommy DeVito to land with a new team.
Just a day after New York cut ties with the New Jersey native after overhauling their quarterback room, the 27-year-old DeVito received word that the Patriots were claiming him off waivers.
Even with both Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs already on New England’s roster, DeVito admitted on Thursday that he wasn’t surprised that the Patriots came calling once he was out on the waiver wire.
“It was something I had a feeling was going to happen, something I was hoping was going to happen, especially with where they were ranked in the claims order,” DeVito said. “I was very excited to get here. I’ve had a lot of prior coaches who have been part of this organization before, know a lot of coaches and people in the business, so I had a lot of good insight.”
With New York bringing in three new quarterbacks this offseason in Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Jaxson Dart, the writing was on the wall that DeVito’s time with the Giants was coming to a close — even with his encouraging play under center when pressed into starting duties.
Over the previous two seasons, DeVito appeared in 12 career games (five starts), completing 65.3 percent of his pass attempts while totaling eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The former Syracuse and Illinois QB also made a good impression on New England during his final preseason tune-up with the Giants. DeVito torched New England’s backups during New York’s 42-10 blowout win last week, completing 17 of his 20 pass attempts for 198 yards and three touchdowns.
“I had a feeling, I was hoping,” DeVito said of joining New England after stuffing the stat sheet against the Patriots. “Every time you go on the field, you perform for 31 others. Especially when you have some feelings about something, so that last one was, ‘Listen, everything is an audition, but this one is a personal audition. So, I want to make it count.’ We did, and here we are.”
While DeVito is joining New England’s roster just a little over a week before regular-season play begins, he said he has some familiarity with Josh McDaniels’ offensive approach.
DeVito played under Giants head coach Brian Daboll over the last two seasons, with Daboll a former positional coach in New England while working under McDaniels.
“We had a little bit of conversation [Thursday], but it’s not too drastic from where I came from,” DeVito said of connecting with McDaniels. “Coach Daboll was with the Patriots in the past.
“Things have changed a little bit, but it’s not as far off as I thought it might have been. So we’re looking forward to getting in and just starting from the ground up and learning everything, and being able to hit the ground running.”
DeVito became a cult hero in New York given his Italian-American upbringing and the fact that he lived with his parents in Cedar Grove — earning the nickname “Tommy Cutlets” during his extended stint with the Giants.
Some things might change moving forward, but DeVito said he’s looking forward to making a trek to the North End and Federal Hill in due time.
“I’ve learned there are a lot of Italians in the area. Social media is a pretty crazy thing,” DeVito said with a smile. “But no, my mother will not be coming to live with me, so I’ll be alone again.
“But I hear there’s a lot of good Italian food, so I’m looking forward to trying it out and embracing all the culture around here.”
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