Tommy DeVito named Giants starting QB, Daniel Jones benched

NEW YORK — The New York Giants are benching struggling quarterback Daniel Jones and will start Tommy DeVito against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, the team announced Monday.
The Giants are turning to DeVito, a second-year fan favorite, as they try to snap a five-game losing streak.
Not only was Jones benched, head coach Brian Daboll said he will be the No. 3 quarterback for the final seven games, while fellow veteran Drew Lock remains the backup.
“Obviously not playing the way any of us want to play, and that’s on all of us,” Daboll said. “But felt like this was a decision that we needed to make here to try to spark things, change things up and we went with Tommy again.”
The Giants (2-8) will have plenty of decisions to make as they appear headed for a second straight losing season.
Obviously one will be Jones’ future — he has two years and $80 million left on his contract — along with that of Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, who also was hired in 2022.
By not playing Jones the rest of the season, the Giants are trying to avoid an injury. If he were hurt and unable to play at the start of next season, it would trigger a $23 million guarantee on his contract.
Daboll said Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft, will stay with the team the rest of the season.
“We had a talk right before the meeting today,” Daboll said referring to Jones. “Never easy. Got a lot of respect for for how he goes about his business, for how Drew does for how he does. Those aren’t easy conversations.”
Daboll had hinted there might be a change after the Giants headed into their bye week following an overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers (3-7) in Germany on Nov. 10.
Jones, 27, has 10 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions this season, including two in the red zone in the 20-17 loss in Munich. He has lost 13 of his last 16 starts and New York ranks last in the league in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game.
Jones got a four-year, $160 million contract after leading the Giants to a surprising playoff appearance in Daboll’s first season in 2022. He saw limited action last season because of a neck injury and later an ACL tear.
Jones played behind a terrible offensive line in 2023 and has been inconsistent this season. DeVito had been listed as the third quarterback every game this season but jumped ahead of veteran Lock, largely because the New Jersey product nicknamed “Tommy Cutlets” was 3-3 as a rookie free agent starter out of Illinois after Jones and backup Tyrod Taylor were hurt.
The Giants have seven games left and are in line to have a high draft pick and likely will take a quarterback.