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Tommy DeVito

Giants Add Jacob Eason To Practice Squad

November 7th, 2023 at 10:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants’ season is currently circling the drain as a 2-7 start has now been compounded with the season-ending ACL injury of starting quarterback Daniel Jones. With Jones out and primary backup passer Tyrod Taylor still on injured reserve with a rib cage injury for the next three games, at least, New York is adding an arm to their stable in the form of young journeyman Jacob Eason on a practice squad deal, per Dan Salomone, managing editor of Giants.com.

Eason has been on the Giants’ radar for a while now, working out with them in minicamp back in June, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, and returning for a tryout today, as well, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Despite having been rostered by four other teams since being drafted in the fourth-round by Indianapolis four years ago, Eason has only appeared in games for the Colts and Panthers. In one game each for either team in the past two seasons, the 25-year-old has seen extremely limited time completing just 5 of 10 pass attempts for 84 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions in just 12 offensive snaps.

Eason likely isn’t coming in to save the day as a starter, or at least not right away. According to Pat Leonard of New York Daily News, head coach Brian Daboll told the media that, with Taylor not certain to return at any point this season, the current plan at quarterback is undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito as the starter, along with getting practice squad veteran backup passer Matt Barkley “up to speed.” Daboll also plans to communicate more with general manager Joe Schoen about possibilities at the position.

The sum of DeVito’s NFL experience has come in the past two weeks as he served replacement duty for both Taylor and Jones in consecutive games. After only completing two of seven pass attempts for -1 yards in his debut, DeVito showed more poise this weekend, going 15 of 20 for 175 yards, while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. Barkley hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2020 and hasn’t made a start since 2018. Over his career, Barkley holds a completion percentage of 58.4 and a touchdown-interception ratio of 11-22.

Neither option likely provides Giants fans with much hope for turning around their season. Nor does Eason, probably, for that matter. Regardless, in comes Eason to provide some depth and experience at the most important offensive position.

Giants QB Daniel Jones Suffers Torn ACL

November 6th, 2023 at 10:47am CST by Ely Allen

NOVEMBER 6: An MRI has confirmed the worst-case scenario. Daboll said on Monday that Jones has indeed torn his ACL, shutting him down for the rest of 2023. As Rapoport notes, Jones will soon undergo surgery with the expectation he will be available by the start of the 2024 campaign.

NOVEMBER 5: Making his return after missing the Giants’ last three games with a neck injury, quarterback Daniel Jones‘ comeback may be short-lived. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network has reported that Jones “is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury, potentially a torn ACL based on initial tests.”

Four weeks ago, Jones suffered a neck injury that knocked him out for the remainder of that week’s contest. He told head coach Brian Daboll at the time that he would be okay, and he did manage to avoid a serious neck injury, but he missed the last six games of the 2021 season with a neck injury, and a new neck injury would’ve been more than enough cause for concern.

Despite avoiding serious injury, Jones was still forced to miss the team’s last three contests. New York was originally aiming for Jones to return in Week 10 next week, but after potentially having their hand forced by the placement of backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor on injured reserve, Jones was cleared in time to start today in Las Vegas.

That’s not at all to say he was brought back too early or that his return this week was the cause of his newest injury. The injury occurred on a non-contact play as Jones rolled to his right within the pocket trying to avoid the pass rush of Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. Jones planted his foot to stop his momentum and saw his knee buckle as a result, leading to his collapse and a sack. He tried to tough it out, remaining in the game for one more snap, in which he attempted to drop back before feeling his knee buckle once again and going down for another easy sack. Jones was soon after ruled out for the remainder of the game.

With Jones’ exit, undrafted Illinois rookie Tommy DeVito made his second NFL appearance. DeVito had filled in last week for an injured Taylor, completing only two of his seven pass attempts for -1 passing yards and taking two sacks. He did provide a contribution on the ground, totaling 12 yards and a touchdown on four carries. He fared a little better in today’s relief appearance, completing 15 of his 20 pass attempts for 175 yards while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. He saw lots of pressure, though, getting sacked six times by the Raiders defense.

This poses an issue for New York. If Jones is forced to miss significant time because of his knee injury and with Taylor out for at least three more games, the Giants are low on options at quarterback. Now post-trade deadline, the team will have to move forward with DeVito or practice squad veteran Matt Barkley, who has not appeared in an NFL game since 2020, or they will have to find an available free agent. Their last option would be to sign a quarterback off another team’s practice squad, straight to their active roster. There are a number of serviceable options there that could provide some competition in New York under center.

As for Jones, this has been an extremely disappointing season following the expectations that came with a four-year, $160MM extension. Six starts, in which the Giants went 1-5, averaging 151.5 passing yards per game and totaling three total touchdowns to seven total turnovers is hardly the return anyone wanted from $40MM per year. Now with his season potentially over, the Giants are faced with many questions for the remainder of the year, and perhaps beyond.

Jones will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of his knee injury. If an ACL tear is confirmed, Jones’ season will be over. They will hope for a lesser severity, but even if his ACL is intact, a serious knee injury is still feared.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/23

October 31st, 2023 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the NFL’s minor moves for today:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed off Bears’ practice squad: DT Travis Bell
  • Placed on IR: DT Grady Jarrett (story)

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kareem, who was just activated off of injured reserve, is being waived to make room for defensive end Montez Sweat, acquired by trade this morning. The Bears also announced a practice squad release, indicating a possible return for Kareem on that unit. The Colts are expected to do the same with Boettger.

O’Connor will lose his active roster spot to make room for quarterback John Wolford, whom Tampa Bay officially promoted today in order to ward off interest parties such as the Rams and Vikings, both of whom are experiencing injury issues at quarterback.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/28/23

October 28th, 2023 at 7:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the gameday elevations and other minor moves made around the league in advance of Week 8:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wilkinson’s loss will be notable for the Cardinals, given his status as an entrenched starter at the left guard spot. The 28-year-old joined Arizona on a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum in free agency after stints in Denver, Chicago and Atlanta. Trystan Colon replaced him in the starting lineup in Week 7, and that will likely continue for the time being. Wilkinson will be out for at least four weeks as a result of the IR move.

Ridgeway has been out since Week 1, his Texans debut. The former 49er joined the Texans in a move which allowed him to continue working under head coach DeMeco Ryans. Ridgeway ended last season on IR, so he will be looking for an extended run of availability in his new home. A veteran of 78 games (and 19 starts), he will aim to carve out a rotational role up front.

Peters was brought in by the Seahawks while they were dealing with injury problems at both tackle spots. Blindside blocker Charles Cross has since returned, so Peters’ most familiar spot will not be available if he is to make his Seattle debut on Sunday. The fact the latter is healthy and in game shape does mean, however, that he will be eligible to play in a 19th NFL season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/23

October 21st, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the minor moves made around the league in advance of the Week 7 slate of Sunday games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos 

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Restored to active roster (from suspension exemption): DE Charles Omenihu

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants 

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Dulcich already had one IR stint this season due to an aggravation of last year’s hamstring injury. The 2022 third-rounder has appeared in only two contests so far this season, and in the most recent one he suffered yet another setback. As a result, he will once again be shut down for at least four weeks.

The Giants’ decision to again promote DeVito points to starter Daniel Jones missing another game. Indeed, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Jones is considered a “longshot” to play tomorrow against the Commanders. It will in all likelihood be Tyrod Taylor under center for New York in Week 7 while Jones continues to recover from his neck injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/23

October 14th, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions heading into the Week 6 weekend:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Dean took the starting role the Eagles had in store for him in Week 1, but a foot injury interrupted his second NFL campaign. The 22-year-old was poised to return ahead of Sunday’s game by returning to practice earlier this week, though, and a first-team role is expected to await him upon suiting up. Dean taking on a heavy workload will relegate Nicholas Morrow (who was promoted from the practice squad) to backup duty despite the latter’s strong performances so far.

Seattle has seen fellow corners Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen enjoy considerable success, but the team’s secondary will be shorthanded without Bryant. The latter will miss at least the next four weeks as a result of the IR move as he recovers from a toe injury. The 2022 fourth-rounder, who has seen his defensive snap share jump from 65% to 77% this year, has not played since Week 2.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East

August 30th, 2023 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles and Giants moves are noted below.

Dallas Cowboys

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Washington Commanders

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Giants Set Initial 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Ely Allen

Most of the headlines concerning the Giants came this summer as the team came to a long-term deal with quarterback Daniel Jones and a short-term solution to satisfy running back Saquon Barkley. Still, the team made the necessary moves today to get towards a 53-man roster. Here are the cuts from today:

Waived:

Released:

Ximines is potentially the biggest name here. A former third-round pick in 2019, Ximines has failed to live up to his draft stock, only starting nine games during the first four years of his career. He was re-signed on a cheap, one-year deal at the start of free agency, but ultimately, it seems like New York decided to move on.

The sixth-round rookie draft pick Beavers had a strong chance not only at a roster spot but at a starting spot. A torn ACL in the preseason ended any hopes of a starting role as a rookie for Beavers.

On offense, Phillips was a top contender for the swing tackle job after filling in for Evan Neal in four starts at right tackle last year. It appears he lost out on the role to Matt Peart.

Lastly, the undrafted rookie quarterback DeVito did his best over the preseason to earn a roster spot, drawing praise from many of his coaches. Ultimately, he proved unable to convince the Giants to keep a third passer behind Jones and Tyrod Taylor.

Giants Planning To Carry Two Quarterbacks

June 28th, 2023 at 4:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the NFL reinstating the emergency quarterback rule, teams’ roster counts at the position become a more interesting topic. The new rule — in place after the 49ers lost both their active QBs during the NFC championship game — may influence teams’ 53-man roster decisions.

The league’s offseason tweak, reverting to a rule that has not been in place since 2010, is not expected to sway the Giants. They are likely to go into the season with a two-quarterback depth chart, Dan Duggan of Athletic notes. Current third-stringer Tommy DeVito is not expected to be a real threat to join Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor on the active roster come September (subscription required).

Last year, the Giants reacquired Davis Webb, whom they originally drafted in the 2017 third round, to team with Jones and Taylor. But Big Blue released Webb and subsequently stashed him on their practice squad. Webb made a few cameos on the Giants’ 55-man gameday roster but was not part of the team’s unit for most games. While Webb was called upon to start a meaningless Week 18 game — his last NFL action before transitioning to coaching; he is now the Broncos’ QBs coach — the Giants rolled with their Jones-Taylor setup for most of last season.

Taylor remains attached to the two-year, $11MM deal he signed in March 2022. Jones signed a four-year, $160MM accord just before the franchise tag deadline — which then pertained to Saquon Barkley — after an encouraging contract year. Jones, however, has missed time in three of his four NFL seasons. Most notably, the former No. 6 overall pick suffered a neck injury that ended his 2021 season in November. Jones underwent surgery to repair the issue. Heading into his age-34 season, Taylor has battled injuries as well. A scary lung puncture controversy sidelined Taylor just before the Chargers’ Week 2 game in 2020, ushering in the Justin Herbert era ahead of schedule, and a hamstring injury shelved the current Giants backup for an extended stretch during a 2021 Texans one-off.

Teams generally avoid dressing three passers — hence the rule update — but clubs will be unable to utilize the emergency QB rule unless they carry a third quarterback on their active roster. In order for the Giants to have DeVito — or another third-stringer — in place as their emergency option, he must be on their 55-man gameday roster. (The 2020 CBA allows teams to elevate two P-squad players the Saturday before a game, expanding gameday rosters to 55.) Teams cannot carry two QBs and bump a third up from the practice squad during a game. This part of the rule figures to influence teams’ roster constructions, but the Giants appear prepared to stick with a two-passer setup.

Playing for Syracuse and Illinois in college, DeVito joined the Giants as as a UDFA in May. No other quarterbacks reside on New York’s offseason roster, but third-string options — whether they land on an active roster or a practice squad — regularly change teams once the cut to 53 players comes. This year, teams must chop their rosters from 90 to 53 by 3pm CT on August 29.

Giants Sign 9 UDFA Rookies

May 5th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants are keeping their rookie class fairly small this year. After drafting seven prospects in the draft last weekend, New York will add nine more rookies of the undrafted variety. Here is the full list:

Johnson, not to be confused with Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson who came out of Toledo four years ago, was second on the Rockets defense with 109 total tackles this year, adding eight tackles for loss, three sacks, three passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble to his stat sheet in 2022. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, the Giants lured him in with an undrafted deal that has a guaranteed amount of $175K consisting of a $25K signing bonus and $150K of the first year’s base salary (worth $750K total).

New York also provided a strong contract offer to Ford-Wheaton, according to Wilson. Ford-Wheaton was offered a guaranteed amount of $236K consisting of a $20K signing bonus and $216K of his $750K first-year base salary. Ford-Wheaton was second on the Mountaineers in receiving yards behind only Sam James, who signed with the Rams after also going undrafted, but surpassed James and the rest of the team with seven receiving touchdowns in 2022.

DeVito arrive in Champaign as a transfer after five years at Syracuse, utilizing his extra COVID-year of eligibility. After being unseated as the Orange starting quarterback in 2021, DeVito took hold of the starting job with the Fighting Illini and had a career year. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes while throwing 15 touchdowns to four interceptions with Illinois, leading the Illini to their first winning season since 2011.

Lyons comes in as some expected camp competition for Casey Kreiter, who has served as the team’s long snapper for the last three years. Kreiter has only ever played in New York on one-year contracts, which may indicate that the Giants are hesitant to commit to the veteran long-term. Lyons could earn himself a roster spot if he shows more upside than Kreiter.