The Cowboys defense can’t be sure exactly what will be on the menu when they host Thanksgiving this year, so they’re coming hungry for whatever is offered up when their visitors from New York arrive.
The 2-9 Giants are undergoing a total revamp at quarterback. Daniel Jones, who started the 2024 season as Big Blue’s $160 million man lasted just ten games this season before getting benched, demoted to fourth string, and finally waived, all within a five-day span last week.
The team turned to Tommy DeVito, the second-year backup who came on in relief of Jones for six starts last year, but there’s no guarantee he plays Thursday. In fact, reports late Wednesday call him “unlikely to play. He did not travel to Dallas with the team but is expected to catch a later flight.
DeVito had been added to the Giants’ injury report with a forearm injury of unknown severity. The team had just a walkthrough Tuesday, but DeVito was officially listed as limited.
“I wouldn’t say it’s timing or a lot of depth to it or velocity to it, but he was throwing in the walkthrough,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday of DeVito’s throwing arm. “He’s going to test it out here today in practice in another walkthrough. So, I’m hopeful, but it’s not 100 percent.”
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DeVito reported that he wasn’t even sure of when the injury occurred during New York’s 30-7 loss to Tampa Bay last week, in which he went 21-of-31 passing for 189 yards.
“My whole body’s kind of sore,” DeVito explained, according the Giants website. “First time playing in a while, took a couple shots. It’s not even 48 hours, so things are still kind of just settling in.”
Dallas last saw DeVito in Week 10 last year at AT&T Stadium. The ex-Syracuse and -Illinois passer threw two touchdowns in the 49-17 Cowboys win, but he went just 14-of-27 for 86 yards otherwise.
If DeVito cannot play Thursday, the Giants would turn to Drew Lock, the former second-round draft pick out of Missouri who spent three years with Denver and two seasons with the Seahawks. Lock has reportedly taken some first-team reps with the Giants offense in case he is pressed into making his first start since Week 15 last season.
The Cowboys have never faced Lock, who has 23 career starts and a 9-14 mark in those contests.
Tim Boyle is the other quarterback on the Giants’ depth chart and would probably serve as the primary backup to Lock.
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