Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots made no secret of their intentions to add another quarterback to their roster, and they followed through on their plans quickly after the NFL roster cutdown deadline. Sitting fourth in the waiver priority order, they put in a claim for Tommy DeVito after his release from the New York Giants.
The Patriots were the only team to do so, allowing them to add the 27-year-old to their team. He now slots in the No. 3 spot behind starter Drake Maye and primary backup Joshua Dobbs.
“It was something that I had a feeling was going to happen, something that I was hoping was going to happen, especially with where they were ranked in the claims order,” DeVito told reporters at his new Gillette Stadium locker on Thursday “I was very excited to get here.”
For DeVito, part of the excitement is his familiarity with the Patriots’ scheme. While there are differences between Josh McDaniels’ offense and the one the young passer ran under his former head coach with the Giants, Brian Daboll, both are similar in principle; Daboll, after all, spent 11 years of his coaching career in Foxborough.
DeVito seems optimistic in his ability to adapt quickly from one to the other.
“It’s not too drastic to where I came from,” DeVito said. “Things have changed a little bit, but it’s not as far off as I though it might have been. So, really looking forward to getting in, starting from the ground up, and learning everything, and being able to hit the ground running.”
DeVito first joined the Giants as a rookie free agent in 2023. Over the next two seasons, he started eight games and completed 145 of 222 pass attempts for 1,358 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
Despite enjoying some success particularly early on, however, it became clear fairly quickly that the organization did not view the Syracuse product as a long-term solution at quarterback. This offseason, it added veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to the mix and invested a first-round draft choice in Jaxson Dart.
DeVito ended up as the odd man out, but it did not take him long to find a new home. Just five days after throwing for 198 yards and three touchdowns against them in the preseason finale, the Patriots picked him up.
“That last one I was like, ‘Listen, everything’s an audition, but this one is an in-person audition,’” he said. “I wanted to make it count. We did, and here we are. The Patriots.”
