The New York Giants have released third-year quarterback Tommy DeVito, subjecting him to waivers.
Naturally, speculation has arisen amongst fans and media that the New York Jets should claim their cross-town rival’s former passer. It makes sense, as the Jets have one of the most questionable quarterback rooms in the NFL.
The Jets have had a QB3 controversy of their own in recent weeks, featuring former UDFA Adrian Martinez (who has been released) against rookie UDFA Brady Cook (whose fate remains undetermined).
Meanwhile, the Jets’ backup quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, has dealt with an injury (which he is expected to recover from in time for Week 1). Their starter, Justin Fields, is far from a sure thing.
Should the Jets add “Tommy Cutlets” to their quarterback room?
For Jets general manager Darren Mougey, this should be one of the easiest answers he will arrive upon over the next few days: No.
DeVito has performed abominably in the NFL
Yes, the bar is low for a quarterback who would be claimed off waivers to serve as a QB3 or sit on the practice squad.
DeVito does not even clear that bar.
The average NFL fan or writer seems to remember DeVito’s games fondly, but the reality is that DeVito is one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.
From 2023 to 2024, DeVito generated -0.163 adjusted EPA per play, according to RBSDM. That ranked 46th among the 47 quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, surpassing only… Zach Wilson.
Wilson and DeVito are in their own tier, far behind the rest of the league. The margin between 46th-ranked DeVito (-0.163) and 44th-ranked Bryce Young (-0.075) is about equal to the gap between Young and 30th-ranked Jameis Winston (0.012).
DeVito has some of the worst pocket presence known to man, taking sacks at a historically poor rate. His career sack rate of 16.2% ranks third-highest among Super Bowl era quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts, including the highest over the past 45 years.
You are almost as likely to see DeVito get sacked as you are to see him move the chains with his arm. DeVito only has 18 more passing first downs (61) than sacks taken (43) in his career, a horrifying 1.4-to-1 ratio. For reference, the league-average quarterback in 2024 had a 4.6-to-1 ratio of passing first downs to sacks taken.
Misleading “experience” as a backup
DeVito has started eight NFL games, leading his teams to a 3-5 record in those contests. That would appear to some as competent enough to label him a reasonably good backup for a QB3, especially relative to unproven players like the Jets’ Brady Cook.
That record wildly overrates DeVito’s actual impact in those starts.
DeVito made headlines in 2023 when he “led” the Giants to a three-game winning streak late in the season. In actuality, it was a hot streak from New York’s defense that sparked the turnaround; they forced 12 turnovers in three games. The Giants’ offense was still poor over that stretch, averaging 293 yards per game, including 173.4 through the air.
Some praise DeVito as an appealing backup for his “experience,” but does that experience carry any value when it entails him playing as poorly as he did? Across DeVito’s eight starts, he produced a net of 122.6 passing yards per game.
DeVito did not even spark the Giants to perform well as a unit. The Giants averaged 16.8 points per game in his starts, which shrinks to 14.9 after removing defensive touchdowns.
No realistic upside
We have established that DeVito is not a quarterback you want to see anywhere near the field in the regular season. Yes, the bar is low for a QB3, but there are certainly dozens of third-string quarterback options who would carry a more promising track record to the field.
Maybe he is worth keeping on the practice squad as a developmental quarterback, though.
The main problem with that notion is DeVito’s age: he is already 27. For perspective, that puts him ahead of Jordan Love. He is four years older than the Jets’ Brady Cook and two years older than Adrian Martinez, whom the Jets recently released.
DeVito came into the NFL as an older prospect (25), which should have made him more NFL-ready. Instead, he has delivered two seasons of atrocious play. If you are still behind the curve at 27, things probably are not looking up for you.
DeVito also offers middling upside from a physical standpoint. He did run a 4.59 in the forty, but his overall athleticism was middle-of-the-pack for an NFL quarterback, checking in with a Relative Athletic Score of 7.89. That is nothing to write home about, especially compared to Cook (9.71) and even Martinez (9.48).
From an arm talent perspective, DeVito has shown little to nothing in the NFL. A checkdown machine, his career ADOT is 6.5; he has only completed seven deep passes across 292 career dropbacks.
DeVito garnered positive reviews for his progress in the 2025 preseason, leading some to believe that he may have potential after all.
While he did perform well from a statistical standpoint (4 TD, 1 INT, 126.2 passer rating), it hardly changed his outlook in areas that matter.
The majority of those numbers were accumulated against backups in the Giants’ Week 3 Bubble Bowl against New England. Even so, most of DeVito’s production came on checkdowns and screens. His ADOT in this year’s preseason was 5.5, even lower than his already minuscule regular season mark. DeVito completed one deep pass in three games.
In fact, a whopping 40% of his completions (12 of 30) were thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
Checking the ball down is not a bad thing in a vacuum. Still, for the sake of this particular topic, DeVito did not disprove the notion that he lacks appealing upside as a developmental quarterback. Not only that, but dumping the ball off in Week 3 of the preseason does not prove you can adequately manage a game in the regular season.
The Jets should roll with Brady Cook or find someone better
DeVito would be a waste of a practice squad spot for the Jets. His track record in the regular season is brutal, and his projected ceiling as a developmental quarterback is unappealing.
Brady Cook offers significantly better upside, and even as an unproven UDFA, he would be hard-pressed to perform worse if called upon in the regular season.
This is not to say New York should be complacent with Cook, who could still be released ahead of today’s 4 p.m. ET cutdown deadline.
The Jets can conceivably do better than Cook with their QB3 spot. While he outperformed Adrian Martinez, he did not exactly light the world on fire. There could be quarterbacks with more appealing upside, or veteran quarterbacks who provide more reliability as an emergency option in the short term.
But if their best alternative is the likes of DeVito, they should not hesitate to roll with Cook.