The New York Giants have too many NFL-caliber quarterbacks. That is a commodity you can bet GM Joe Schoen hopes to take advantage of over the next 24 hours or by obtaining some draft capital in exchange for the quarterback he has to drop, likely the still-popular Tommy DeVito.
The Giants, of course, have Russell Wilson as their starter. They have Jameis Winston signed as a backup for this year and next. They have first-round pick Jaxson Dart waiting in the wings to be handed the keys to the franchise’s
future.
That almost certainly leaves DeVito, entering his fourth season, as the odd man out. Perhaps his 17 of 20, 198-yard, 3-touchdown performance in the preseason finale against the New England Patriots will help Schoen find a trade partner for the 27-year-old DeVito.
Here are five teams who might be in the market for an upgrade at QB2.
Detroit Lions
The Lions went 15-2 last season. They have designs on being a Super Bowl team. A major issue for Detroit is that the Lions have only the still-untested Hendon Hooker and non-descript veteran Kyle Allen as backups for starting quarterback Jared Goff.
Hooker’s time in Detroit might be up. The third-year quarterback has thrown only nine passes for the Lions and after a preseason that saw him complete just 22 of 40 passes (55%) with no touchdowns and 3 interceptions, suggested Hooker might need “a change of scenery.”
There seems to be an expectation that Hooker will not make the Lions’ 53-man roster, so there would be an opening. DeVito would be an upgrade over both Allen and Hooker.
Las Vegas Raiders
Backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell suffered a fractured right wrist in the Raiders’ preseason finale, and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Las Vegas has only rookie Cam Miller as a backup for Geno Smith.
“All possibilities are available right now, wherever they come from,” [Raiders’ coach Pete] Carroll said. “We’re looking everywhere to see the best guy that fits us. So if you don’t mind, I’m not gonna lay out exactly what we’re looking for here, I don’t want to show our hand. But I want somebody who’s played, that’s what’s important. A guy that’s had game experience is really huge to me.”
Tennessee Titans
One thing the Giants’ unique quarterback room has shown throughout the offseason is the value of an experienced quarterback in the development of a highly-drafted rookie. Tennessee does have Trevor Siemian and Brandon Allen as options to back up No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, but DeVito is better and younger than either of them.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yes, the Buccaneers have 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask as a backup for Baker Mayfield. Trask, though, has never started an NFL game and has thrown just 11 passes in three seasons. The Bucs have won four straight NFC South titles and have designs on doing so again. Could they really trust Trask to win them games if something happened to Mayfield?
Probably not.
New York Jets
Giants fans would probably hate this one. DeVito, a New Jersey high school hero, would likely love it as he would get to stay home.
Yes, the Jets have former Giant Tyrod Taylor to back up Justin Fields. Taylor is a good quarterback, but Giants fans know it’s hard to trust him because every time he has to play he seems to get hurt. Taylor missed the preseason due to knee surgery, is uncertain for Week 1 and it would likely be a good idea for the Jets to better than Brady Cook as insurance for Taylor.
