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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito will get another start at quarterback for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday.
DeVito got his first career start this past Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys over recently signed veteran Matt Barkley after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee. Backup Tyrod Taylor is on injured reserve with a rib cage injury and out at least two more games.
For now at least, the Giants (2-8) want to stick with DeVito to see what he can do.
“I think he’s a good young quarterback to work with,” Daboll said. “Try to improve him this week from last week.”
DeVito completed 14 of 27 passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in Sunday’s 49-17 loss to the Cowboys. He added 41 rushing yards on seven carries.
It was the third straight game that DeVito made an appearance, the previous two as an injury replacement for Taylor and then Jones. He insists the game has slowed down as a result.
“For sure. It happened in the Raiders game [last Sunday], in the second half of the Raiders game is when it slowed down,” DeVito said. “But, like I said, I feel good. But every week, every snap, everything that gets under my belt, it’s all positive.”
Washington is a much softer landing spot. It recently traded pass-rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat and has the 29th-ranked pass defense.
The Cowboys entered last week first in pressure percentage and pass rush win rate. DeVito struggled against the aggressive Dallas defense and was sacked five times in Sunday’s blowout loss.
The undrafted rookie was still able to toss second-half touchdowns to Lawrence Cager and Sterling Shepard.
New York believes DeVito gives the team the best chance at this point considering his time in the offense. Barkley was signed as a free agent two weeks ago. Jacob Eason was added recently to the practice squad as well.
DeVito has been with the team since the spring.
“Yeah, he’s done a good job improving,” Daboll said. “He’s a young player, he’s a young quarterback so a lot of things you go through. We’ll see if we can get him better this week than he was last week.”
The Giants are trying to snap a three-game skid. Their last win came against Washington, and the 17 points scored Sunday were their most in a game since Week 2.
The league’s lowest-ranked offense is now in the hands of DeVito, who went undrafted this year after spending his college career at Syracuse and Illinois. He began the season on the practice squad, where it seemed unlikely he would get this opportunity behind Jones and Taylor.
Now, it seems to be his team for the next two weeks barring anything unexpected. The Giants face Washington and New England before entering their bye week, when Taylor can return.
“Just try to go out and make the most of every play, every opportunity that I get,” DeVito said. “Just try to showcase what I can do.”
It might be for only a few weeks. Taylor has been working on the side with trainers to stay in shape. He said last week that his injury was “not season-ending in my mind.”
Daboll said on Wednesday that Taylor is “making progress” but wouldn’t commit to him returning this year.
