Tommy DeVito was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on Wednesday, keeping the well-known NFL underdog story alive after a three-year stint with the New York Giants.
New England had an up-close and personal view of DeVito’s potential in the preseason finale against the Giants. He was 17-for-20 passing with three touchdown passes.
DeVito’s arrival as a purported backup behind 2024 No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye comes with the guarantee of a roster spot through at least Week 3 by NFL rule because of the waiver claim.
When the Patriots set their 53-man roster on Tuesday, only Maye and journeyman Joshua Dobbs were listed at quarterback.
DeVito, 27, was the odd man out with the Giants, who erased their existing QB depth chart to sign Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency. They spent a first-round pick to select Jaxson Dart in April, which became increasingly ominous for DeVito’s chances of remaining with his hometown team.
“We’ve got three on the active roster so it can be difficult sometimes, depending on how the roster shapes up — where you have some needs, where you decide to go deep in certain positions and it just worked out that,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said about the decision to part with DeVito. “We’re happy for Tommy. He was claimed by New England. I’m not sure how many other teams put in claims. We’ll be able to probably see that later today or tomorrow, but we would love to have him back. He was claimed and we wish him nothing but the best.”
For the 2025 preseason, DeVito completed 30 of 38 passes (78.9 percent) for 323 yards and four touchdowns and one interception.
In 12 career NFL games with the Giants, DeVito completed 145 of 222 passes for 1,358 yards. All eight of his career TD passes and three interceptions came during his 2023 season when he made three starts following an injury to Tyrod Taylor.
He entered the NFL with the Giants in April 2023, signing an undrafted free agent contract after a productive senior season at Illinois. He played at Syracuse from 2019-2021 and totaled 43 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 40 career college games.
–Field Level Media
