New York Giants bench Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito to start against Tampa Bay
The 2-8 Giants are hitting the panic button as they'll go with backup quarterback Tommy DeVito in their next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a disastrous 10 weeks from Jones.
"We're making a quarterback switch here from Daniel," Daboll said at the opening of his Monday press conference. "We're going to go with Tommy.
"I spoke with all the quarterbacks this morning before our morning meeting to let them know what the direction we're going. Those are never easy conversations. I've got a lot of respect for all three of those guys."
"After evaluating a bunch of things and looking at a lot of tape - and being around Tommy last year where he created a lot of spark for us - that's the reason why we're going with Tommy.
"Drew will be the backup, continue to work with him. He's been nothing but a pro, as has Daniel. It's never an easy conversation to have with the players."
Jones is having an abysmal year despite landing a contract extension from the Giants worth 4 years and $160 million. In 10 games this year, he has thrown for only 2,070 yards (19th), eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
His 46.8 quarterback rating is ranked 26th in the league while his 79.4 passer rating is ranked 32nd out of 43 eligible quarterbacks.
DeVito started six games for the Giants in 2023 as a rookie, going 3-3 with 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions with a 89.3 passer rating. However, his 64.0 completion percentage in those six games is very close to what Jones is throwing this year (63.3%).
"We felt like this was a decision that we needed to make here to try to spark things, change things up," Daboll said.
The fan-favourite Italian among New York fans could be the one to light a spark for a Giants team so far in the dark that even Voyager 1 can't find it. But they'll need a lot more than DeVito's charisma.
The Giants currently own the worst offence in the NFL, scoring a 15.6 points per game on the season and just 13.4 over the team's current five-game losing streak. General Manager Joe Schoen stressed that "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," Schoen said. "I'm focused on 2024 and how we can get better these final seven games."
