Tag: drew lock

Dejected Drew Lock reacts to not being named Giants’ starter

“It’s just an interesting situation,” Drew Lock said after the Giants benched Daniel Jones and Tommy DeVito jumped Lock on the depth chart.

The New York Giants announced this week that quarterback Daniel Jones has been benched. Surprisingly, Drew Lock is not replacing him.

Lock served as New York’s backup quarterback for the first 10 games of the season. After benching Jones, however, the Giants are turning the offense over to Tommy DeVito, not Lock.

So why was Lock listed above DeVito on the depth chart all season until Jones was benched?

“Yeah, that’s a question I might still have for myself,” Lock told reporters on Wednesday, via SNY.tv. “You know, it was expressed to me that I was going to be the [No.] 2 and, I don’t know, it’s just an interesting situation.

“Not much I can really say about it besides, again, I’m going to be here for him and we’re still communicating, we’re still very good friends, believe it or not. No, yeah, I’m going to be here for him. This team needs to get a win and if you start winning, everything gets a little better around here.”

There’s been speculation that New York is not starting Lock in part because his contract includes reachable incentives based on playing time and performance. Whatever the reason, DeVito will start for the Giants going forward.

Lock, 28, was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft out of Missouri. He is 9-14 as a starter in the NFL.

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Around the NFL: Former Seahawks QB Drew Lock disappointed with Giants decision

Around the NFL: Former Seahawks QB Drew Lock disappointed with Giants decision

Former Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock signed with the New York Giants in free agency this past offseason for a better opportunity to compete for a starting job. Unsurprisingly, Lock was named the No. 2 after Daniel Jones retained his gig.

Lock understood the long-term ramifications. It was frequently mentioned throughout the preseason that Jones had an injury clause in his contract that would trigger a sizable payout in 2025 if he got hurt in 2024. With the Giants currently sitting at 2-8, head coach Brian Daboll has made the unsurprising decision to bench Jones to ensure they could release him from his contract this coming summer.

But in a shocking turn of events, Lock was not named the starter despite practicing as the No. 2 quarterback all season long. Instead, Daboll bypassed him in favor of No. 3 quarterback Tommy DeVito. Lock recently expressed his disappointment.

“That’s a question I still have for myself,” Lock bluntly answered when asked about DeVito going from No. 3 QB to starter. “It was expressed to me that I was going to be the No. 2 [backup quarterback]. It’s an interesting situation. There’s not much I can say besides I’m going to be here for him [DeVito]. We’re still communicating, we’re still very good friends.”

The 2-8 Giants are currently slated to own the No. 4 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. They’re prime candidates to select one of the top three quarterback prospects, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, or Jalen Milroe. Lock seemingly won’t receive an opportunity to improve the Giants this season.

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Giants’ Tommy DeVito is over last year’s hype, focused solely on football

New York Giants QB Tommy DeVito had fun with all the hype last season but this time around, he’s focused solely on football.

Last year, New York Giants rookie free agent quarterback Tommy DeVito was thrust into the team’s starting role due to injuries to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor.

As a local New Jersey product, he took full advantage of his opportunity and, along with his colorful family and friends, managed to capture the imagination of Giant fans and add some interest in an otherwise dreadful season.

This week, DeVito was named the Giants’ starter for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

This time around, DeVito knows what to expect and so do the fans.

“Last year was a good story and all, it was kind of like how it happened, but all the fun and games outside, it was fun, it was last year, I’m kind of over that,” he said on Wednesday.

“I’m sticking to football now, not that I wasn’t before, but really focused on that, the external stuff will be on pause. I already had talks with everybody around me, my inner circle, it is going to stay very tight, and make sure that everything is about productions on Sunday.”

DeVito said he was not surprised by the team’s decision to elevate him from the depths of the roster (where he had not taken a single snap this season) over two healthy quarterbacks (Jones and Drew Lock) into the starting role.

“I was open for all outcomes. It’s kind of something that I’ve been preparing for since last year,” DeVito told reporters. “You always say, ‘Stay ready, even though you’re quarterback three. Stay ready, you never know.’ And it’s kind of similar to last year, you never know. But continuing to work throughout this whole season so far, learn, practice, just make the most of it, so that way when the opportunity comes, you’ll be ready for it.”

DeVito went 3-3 as a starter and injected some life into the Giants’ stale offense, but at the same time, made his share of rookie mistakes. He was asked what has changed since we last saw him.

“A lot mentally. Trying to avoid more negative plays than I was. Sometimes taking some sacks where I could have found a way to get the ball out or just make a better decision. So really just the growth from year one to year two of watching a lot more film of myself, of other people and just getting some more ideas for when I’m out there,” he said.

This new chapter likely won’t focus as much on the sideshow of chicken cutlets and Sopranos references but more on football.

DeVito has a better cast around him this time with a revamped offensive line and rookie Malik Nabers at wide receiver, so we shall see if he’s truly worthy of another shot at the job.

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Giants are humiliating Daniel Jones with QB4 role

The New York Giants have put Daniel Jones in an embarrassing spot by keeping him around and demoting him to the QB4 role behind Tim Boyle.

The manner in which the New York Giants are treating quarterback Daniel Jones these days is simply unjust — and unprofessional.

Jones was ousted from his starting position this week in favor of third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito and is now listed as the team’s fourth quarterback.

The Giants are dry-docking Jones on their roster behind DeVito, Drew Lock (who is also being mistreated), and newly-signed Tim Boyle not only because of his underperformance but for financial reasons.

Jones has a $23 million injury clause that will kick in should he get injured. The Giants are doing everything they can to keep him off the field for the rest of the season.

As we stated on Wednesday, what is the purpose of keeping him around? To humiliate him? They should do what the Las Vegas Raiders did two years ago with Derek Carr and send him home.

Instead, Jones is doing all of the things he would normally do such as attending meetings and participating in practice. He is doing this with the knowledge that he will never take another snap in a New York Giants uniform again.

Is this any way to treat a player who bore the brunt of the massive mismanagement the past six years?

No matter what you think of Jones, he deserves better.

“Daniel’s been a pro,” head coach Brian Daboll said on Wednesday. “He’s been a good teammate for us. Again, this is the role that he has right now for us and I’m glad he’s part of our team.

“He’ll be out here working. We’ve had, again, private meetings. Not the easiest thing, and I understand that, but he’ll be out here, and he’ll be working.”

Sure. Daboll said the team makes its personnel decisions on Fridays. We’ll see where Jones, who is not expected to be active nor be listed as the team’s emergency quarterback this Sunday, ends up.

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Giants’ Drew Lock calls being passed over an ‘interesting situation’

New York Giants QB Drew Lock is “upset” after being passed over for the starting role, calling the entire situation “interesting.”

This past offseason, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen misread the room and was left empty-handed when disgruntled quarterback Tyrod Taylor jumped ship to the New York Jets.

Schoen had been convinced Taylor would return despite losing his job due to injury in 2023, as we saw on “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants.”

With Schoen caught off guard by Taylor’s departure, he went out and signed quarterback Drew Lock to a one-year, $5 million deal.

Lock was viewed as an insurance policy in the event Daniel Jones (knee) was unable to start the season. When it became apparent DJ would return, Lock assumed the backup role knowing that an opportunity to start could come down the line.

To date, that moment has not arrived.

The Giants benched Jones earlier this week but instead of handing the keys over to Lock, they promoted Tommy DeVito from QB3 to QB1 after 10 straight games as a healthy scratch.

The decision left many perplexed, including Lock.

“If you get to be the backup all year and the time comes and you end up still being a backup, you’re upset,” Lock told reporters on Wednesday. “Definitely disappointed.”

Lock says he will remain professional and avoid tearing up the locker room due to his frustration, but admits the entire situation is “interesting.”

“Again, that’s a question I might still have for myself,” Lock said when asked why he was QB2 all season and not starting now. “It was expressed to me that I was going to be the two. I don’t know, it’s an interesting situation. Not much I can really say about it.

“There’s a ton of emotions involved in all of it. I would say, this is still a business. I want more jobs after this year.”

The best way to stay relevant and generate free agent interest is by putting good film on tape but for the time being, that’s not going to happen. However, it also doesn’t mean Lock’s New York window is closed because head coach Brian Daboll refused to commit to DeVito beyond Week 12, which in and of itself is curious.

Maybe the Giants start Lock in Week 13. Or who knows, maybe they leapfrog him again and go with the recently signed Tim Boyle. Anything seems possible at this point.

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Mark Schlereth on Daniel Jones benching: ‘This is why the Giants suck’

Mark Schlereth slammed the New York Giants for their handling of the QB situation, saying they “suck” and calling them a “clown show.”

The New York Giants are once again the laughingstock of the NFL and their demotion of quarterback Daniel Jones hasn’t gone over like they had hoped.

Players are angry and confused with the decision, while experts and analysts from around the league continue to criticize general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll’s handling of the situation.

In the mind of retired NFL offensive lineman and current FS1 analyst Mark Schlereth, this is just another example of a failing franchise.

“This is why the Giants suck,” he said on Tuesday. “Drew Lock has been your backup quarterback for the entirety of the season, right? He was the guy, if Daniel Jones was going to get hurt, he was the guy that was going in. He was good enough to do that for you for the entirety of this season.

“But as soon as you decide to bench Daniel Jones, you decide to go with the sideshow, Tommy Cutlets. Because why? Because your fan base will be excited?”

Schlereth also believes the decision to leapfrog Drew Lock in favor of Tommy DeVito, which some believe was done for financial reasons, will repel free agent players in the future.

“Like, to me, this is the biggest issue. You’re a bad franchise. You need to attract free agents to come to your franchise,” he said. “If I’m a free agent player, and all things being equal from a money standpoint, I look at this clown show versus some other team… I’m not going to the Giants. That’s a clown show.

“That guy worked all year to be the backup to get his opportunity. He signed there to have an opportunity because he knew Daniel Jones was questionable and at the 11th hour you decide, ‘no, we’re going to go with (DeVito).'”

Of course, Schlereth didn’t actually say “DeVito.” Instead, he mimicked circus music with a background overlay to really hammer home how much of an embarrassment the Giants have become.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll going with Tommy DeVito to ‘create a spark’

New York Giants coach Brian Daboll says he’s going with Tommy DeVito as QB1 to “create a spark” after he was a healthy scratch for 10 games.

On Monday, the New York Giants officially benched quarterback Daniel Jones, demoting him to the QB3 spot, effectively ending his career in East Rutherford.

It was a move many saw coming after a Week 10 debacle in Germany against the Carolina Panthers but one that was followed by a more controversial decision.

Instead of moving Drew Lock into the starting role and using Tommy DeVito as his backup, the Giants instead promoted DeVito to QB1 in order to create a spark.

“After evaluating a bunch of things and looking at a lot of tape and being around Tommy last year where he created a little bit of a spark for us, that’s the reason why we’re going with Tommy,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters.

“Drew will be the backup. Continue to work with him. He’s been nothing but a pro and as was Daniel. It’s never an easy conversation to have with the players. But felt like this was a necessary move for us and look forward to working with Tommy and getting him ready to go against Tampa.”

Daboll refused to elaborate on why Jones was demoted to QB3 and will be inactive for the remainder of the season, but the reasons are obvious. There’s an injury clause and a $23 million guaranteed salary in 2025 hanging over their heads. Admitting that would cause some issues with the NFLPA, so the coach attempted to thread a needle with his comments.

Everyone can accept that answer with a wink and a nod. We know.

But why DeVito over Lock, who was handed a one-year, $5 million contract during the offseason? After all, DeVito has been a healthy scratch for the past 10 games.

Pressed further, Daboll said after evaluating the film, they suddenly discovered that DeVito was their best quarterback.

“I wanted to take our time and watch a lot of tape. Not just this year’s, last year’s, some other things, too. And try to make the best decision we can make for our team. That’s what I did,” he said.

Uh-huh. We’re sure it has nothing to do with the potential escalators in Lock’s contract or the fact that the Giants have the third-least remaining cap space in the NFL. It was just a “football decision.”

If that were true, one must wonder how the Giants failed to recognize this over their first 10 games.

Jones is likely to be cut after this season, Lock will become an unrestricted free agent, and DeVito will become an exclusive rights free agent. It’s entirely possible — if not plausible — that none of the three return.

“We’re just focused here on this week and the decision that we made to get these guys ready to go. That’s where our focus is,” Daboll said when asked about the future of Jones and the other quarterbacks.

The irony is that DeVito was probably the best choice but how the Giants have handled him thus far, Lock’s contracts and Daboll’s answers make it a spectacle. It casts doubt on general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll and their ability to properly evaluate quarters. It also calls into question their ability to handle contracts and personnel. After all, this is far from the first time personnel decisions have raised an eyebrow.

And what if DeVito, who will play behind an improved offensive line compared to his last time on the field, actually goes out and wins? It might save the regime but cost them a chance at a true franchise quarterback.

Even when the current Giants regime makes the right move, they find a way to muck it up. And that can not make co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch happy.

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Around the NFL: Former Seahawks QB Drew Lock now primary backup in NY

Around the NFL: Former Seahawks QB Drew Lock now primary backup in NY

Early on Monday morning, it was announced the New York Football Giants were making a long overdue change at quarterback. Daniel Jones, who has been the starter (when healthy) since he entered the league in 2019, has been benched. No, that’s not accurate. Not entirely.

Daniel Jones is no longer the starter, and he is not even the backup. He is now outranked by former Seattle Seahawks backup Drew Lock. Jones has been passed up in favor of both Tommy DeVito, who is now the starter, and Lock, who signed a a one-year deal with the Giants this offseason.

From 2022-2023, Drew Lock was a Seahawk. He started two games in absence of Geno Smith due to injury, and performed quite well in relief. He likely parlayed his stellar performance on MNF last season into extending his career in the league with the aforementioned extension. Given how much quarterback Daniel Jones has struggled in every single year of his career aside from the 2022 season when he wasn’t completely awful, it made sense the Giants would want to bring in some insurance behind him. Of course, the irony is now Lock is the insurance for Tommy DeVito.

Last year, in relief of the injured Jones, Tommy DeVito started six games and won three of them. He threw eight touchdowns against only three interceptions, but did not have one in either of his last two starts – both of which were losses. However, DeVito’s eight touchdown passes last year in six games equal the amount of touchdowns Daniel Jones has thrown in 2024.

It was beyond time for New York to move on from Jones, who somehow managed to stay the starter far past the point he should have been benched. In a league where teams are quicker than ever to move on from young quarterbacks, Jones was inexplicably allowed to start 69 games, compiling a record of 24-44-1. In 2022, Jones somehow helped guide the Giants to a 9-6-1 record, and even won a Wild Card playoff game. He only had 15 touchdown passes that year, but apparently that was more than good enough for New York to give him a four-year, $160 million extension.

Unfortunately, with Jones being benched so far deep on the depth chart, this likely means his final win of the season was in Week 5 against… the Seattle Seahawks, where two of his eight touchdown passes on the season were thrown in the 29-20 victory at Lumen Field. Incredibly annoying.

I will conclude with one more note about Drew Lock. For all the talk about how Giants head coach Brian Daboll is some “offensive mastermind,” he still isn’t able to get Lock to being a starting caliber player. Meanwhile, former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll had Lock playing quality football in his two starts in 2023, including a heroic win on Monday Night Football.

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Giants make surprising decision on Drew Lock

The Giants are benching Daniel Jones, but they are not turning the offense over to Drew Lock.

The New York Giants (2-8) are finally making a quarterback change, but not to Drew Lock.

The Giants are benching Daniel Jones and replacing him in the starting lineup with Tommy DeVito, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and others. This is a somewhat surprising move given Lock’s role before Jones’ benching.

Lock, 28, was picked by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft out of Missouri. He is 9-14 as a starter in the NFL, including a 1-1 mark with the Seattle Seahawks last season. Lock has served as New York’s No. 2 this fall with DeVito inactives on game days.

DeVito seems to have now jumped Lock on the depth chart. DeVito, 26, signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois in 2023. He went 3-3 as a starter last season with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

It appears to be a financially-motivated decision.

The Broncos will not play New York this fall, but the Giants will play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17. Denver needs to fend off the Colts and Cincinnati Bengals in order to make the NFL playoffs this season.

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Giants starting Tommy DeVito is a financial decision, not a football one

New York Giants GM Joe Schoen said any personnel changes during the bye would be a football decision but starting Tommy DeVito isn’t that.

When he met with reporters during the team’s bye week, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen insisted any personnel moves ahead of a Week 12 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be “football decisions.”

“We’re going to evaluate everything the rest of the week and the decisions we make will be football decisions,” Schoen said. “Any decisions we make moving forward as we evaluate the roster and what we’re doing for the final seven games will be football decisions.

“We have seven games left in this season and that’s what we’re focused on. I’m focused on 2024 and how we can get better these final seven games.”

On Monday, the Giants made their first “football decision” by benching quarterback Daniel Jones. However, what they decided after that was not necessarily motivated by attempting to win the final seven games of the season.

Instead of going with backup quarterback Drew Lock, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal this past offseason, the Giants opted to turn the ball over to third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito.

That begs the question: Why?

It could be that the Giants simply haven’t been impressed with what they’ve seen from Lock, which calls into question their ability to evaluate quarterbacks. But they deserve the benefit of the doubt and the assumption that wasn’t the final reasoning.

The only other plausible option is that the Giants made a financial decision to go with DeVito over Lock, not a football one.

By avoiding potential incentives in Lock’s contract, Schoen won’t have to readjust his roster to clear salary cap space. It’s another indictment of poor personnel handling but it goes even deeper than that.

For months, the argument has been made that the Giants cheaped out on running back Saquon Barkley when failing to bridge the $2 million gap between them. Some argued it was Jones’ contract that precluded Barkley’s signing. Maybe it was Lock’s?

With the Giants now turning to DeVito, hindsight becomes clear. Had they simply gone with Tommy Cutlets as the backup in the first place, they would have had plenty of money to invest in Barkley.

Yes, benching Jones was the right decision. The argument could be made that going with DeVito is also the best football decision. But the change appears directly tied to Schoen’s poor financial and personnel handling, which is not at all what he claimed just last week.

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