Tommy DeVito knows he’s an NFL quarterback.
With the Giants, or elsewhere.
The second-year quarterback, who signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent last year, will likely play most of the Giants’ preseason game against the Jets on Saturday, if not the entirety.
After emerging as a fan favorite and out-of-nowhere local star last year, his Giants future will soon become clear.
“It’s not my decision. It’s not in my hands,” DeVito said after the Giants’ practice Thursday. “So for me, it’s just to continue, every time I’m out on the field, showing what I proved really to myself, first and foremost, that I belong somewhere in the NFL. Honestly, I want to be with the Giants, but when I’m out there on the field, I just continue to try to get out and get better each play and every day.”
After signing Drew Lock to be Daniel Jones’ backup this offseason, the Giants appeared poised to place DeVito on their practice squad when rosters are cut down.
That would have allowed any other team to sign DeVito to their active roster.
But Lock’s health is now uncertain — he has remained on the sidelines during practice since suffering a strained oblique during the Giants’ 14-3 preseason win over the Lions on Aug 8.
Lock was the emergency quarterback during the team’s 28-10 preseason loss to the Texans on Saturday, and is expected to be again Saturday, head coach Brian Daboll said Thursday.
It’s certainly a possibility Lock is not ready for the start of the season, which would open the door for DeVito to make the team.
So far this preseason, DeVito has completed 18 of 34 passes for 167 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
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“I don’t know if the word is ‘worried,’ ” DeVito said about his roster safety. “I think I’ve always carried confidence about myself. I’ve always just tried to go out each and every day and tried to play my best and be my best each day on the field, whether it was last year or this year, no matter what happened. Because last year was last year. It’s in the past. We’re moving on to what is here now.”
Daboll would not reveal whether he will play his starters Saturday against the Jets, though it’s likely most will rest.
Daboll rested most of his starters in the third preseason game each of the last two years.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Thursday his starters won’t play.
Defensive tackle Elijah Chatman’s chase-down tackle on Texans running back J.J. Taylor on Saturday drew acclaim around the team.
And a joke from Dexter Lawrence.
“I told him I’m still faster than him,” Lawrence said Thursday.
Daboll will call plays on offense again against the Jets, as he has throughout training camp and preseason.
He acknowledged it’s likely he’ll call plays during the regular season, which has been expected.