New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is dealing with forearm soreness that could keep him out of Thursday’s Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys.
That’s according to head coach Brian Daboll, who told reporters Tuesday that he’s “hopeful” DeVito will be able to play, but “it’s not 100%” that he will. Backup Drew Lock will get a rep in practice with the Giants starters on Tuesday.
After Daboll made his comments, DeVito told reporters that “the plan is to play.”
“My whole body is a little sore,” DeVito said. “First time playing in a while. I shot a few shots. It’s only been, not even 48 hours. Things are still settling.”
“The plan is to play. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll wake up feeling better when I get another treatment today. Looking forward to tomorrow.”
DeVito made his first start in place of longtime starter Daniel Jones, who the Giants benched last week and then released for poor play. Lock was the No. 1 quarterback. 2 behind Jones, but Daboll promoted DeVito from third string to starter ahead of Locke, raising questions about the decision in New York.
This is DeVito’s second stint as New York’s starting quarterback. In Sunday’s 30-7 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he completed 21 of 31 passes for 189 yards without a touchdown or turnover. The Giants fired up their home crowd on Sunday as they went into halftime down 23-0.
DeVito started six games last season when Jones was injured. The Giants went 3-3 in his starts as DeVito completed 64% of his passes for 1,101 yards (6.2 yards per attempt) with eight touchdowns and three interceptions on the season.
The Giants signed Locke to a one-year, $5 million contract in the offseason. Lock, a fifth-year NFL veteran, spent last season backing up Gene Smith in Seattle and previously was a backup and starter for the Denver Broncos. He started 23 games in his career, completing 59.5% of his passes for 5,292 yards (6.7 yards per attempt) with 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
The Giants dropped to 2-9 with Sunday’s loss to the Bucs and are tied for the worst record in the NFL.