Tommy DeVito's Benching Adds a New Wrinkle to His Off-Field Endeavors

During the 2023 NFL season, there have been plenty of headline-grabbing storylines. Taylor Swift has largely stolen the show, but in terms of on-field narratives, the metaphorical cupboard is well stocked. The defending Super Bowl champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, have struggled, while the Baltimore Ravens have soared to the top of the AFC. Injuries, particularly for quarterbacks, have forced clubs to adjust on the fly.

One of those replacements, Joshua Dobbs, stole the show in Minnesota. Even the Passtronaut, though, fell back to earth. And in New York, Tommy "Tommy Cutlets" DeVito experienced a similar rise to stardom. But on Christmas Day the quarterback was benched, and his future now seems uncertain.

And while it's not exactly news that the NFL is a cutthroat league, that benching does add a bit more context to the DeVito saga. When your time in the spotlight can last just weeks, you need to seize the opportunity.

DeVito Was Told to Focus on Football

Before moving forward, let's rewind a bit.

In Week 10 of the 2023 campaign, DeVito stepped forward as the New York Giants' starting quarterback. He didn't turn in a remarkable performance against the Dallas Cowboys, but he retained the job and secured a win against the Washington Commanders. He would later extend that winning streak to three games, knocking off both the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers.

While winning will always make you a fan favorite, DeVito had some other factors working in his favor. Beyond being an underdog—he played college ball at both Syracuse and Illinois before joining the Giants as an undrafted free agent—the quarterback's story spoke to the local fan base. Branded "Tommy Cutlets," the young signal-caller lived at home and ate his mother's chicken cutlets for dinner. Add some stereotypical Italian hand gestures, a last name ending in a vowel and a colorful agent into the mix, and you have a viral sensation.

And DeVito capitalized. He appeared in an Instagram video rating Italian food, promoted pasta sauce and appeared at a local pizzeria. That event was marred by some minor controversy, but the quarterback ultimately made things right.

But not everyone was a fan of that rise to prominence. Boomer Esiason, an MVP-winning quarterback, advised DeVito to focus on football.

"The young man is a very nice young man and seems to have all of his priorities in the right place," Esiason said on his WFAN (New York) radio show. "I would just again advise him: Just play football, man. Stop with all this other crap off the field. You haven't really done much.

"You have the opportunity of a lifetime. Don't blow it. Don't blow it because of idiot things like this off the field. Just focus in on being the best player you can be the next three weeks and make the Giants' decision difficult," Esiason said.

But when DeVito next took the field, he didn't exactly make the club's decision difficult. During a Christmas Day date with the Philadelphia Eagles, he completed nine of 16 passes for 55 yards before being benched.

After the final whistle, head coach Brian Daboll said that the quarterback change was designed to spark the team. Tyrod Taylor, who took over during the second half, did pull the Giants back into the game, but it wasn't enough to win.

DeVito Can Be Excused for Seizing the Moment

At this point, we don't know what the future holds for DeVito. While the Giants' position in the standings suggests that the rest of the season should be used for developmental time, there's no guarantee that the New Jersey native will see the field. Perhaps the club has decided he doesn't have the ceiling to develop into a worthwhile asset. Maybe Daboll and his staff want to keep the locker room onside by taking a legitimate crack at winning the two remaining games.

But no matter what the final two games hold, benching shatters the narrative. Tommy Cutlets, the larger than life "Passing Pisano," isn't untouchable. Even if it seemed as if he was given the keys to the offense, things change quickly in the NFL. He was yanked once and can be again.

And, in fairness, the numbers don't exactly make a strong case for keeping DeVito in the lineup. During his time under center, he's thrown for more than 200 yards only once and hasn't completed more than 20 passes in a single outing. The New Jersey native has limited turnovers, but the three straight wins were the QB's most impressive stat. At a certain point, being "Tommy Cutlets" and energizing the fan base isn't enough. You need to deliver.

After the Eagles game, DeVito seemed to be cognizant of that reality.

"It's tough. It's just a constant reminder that it's a business," he said. "They're always going to try to find someone to replace you, wherever it is.

"At the same time, it is a business. It's your job. I respect it. There's no hard feelings one way or another. I was hoping [Taylor] was going to go out there and ball and we win the game. It's nothing more than that. That's all it is," he said.

Being a business, however, works in both ways. If life at the top is fleeting, you can't blame a player for seizing the opportunity. DeVito, even at his most confident moment, probably didn't think he'd be a viral star and the talk of the NFL. And given that he may already be drifting back toward "Remember that guy?" territory, it's tough to blame him for soaking up the spotlight.

Remember, this isn't a one-off phenomenon. Josh Dobbs took off in Minnesota thanks to his unique backstory and his on-field efforts. He even became the NFL's X (formerly Twitter) header photo, a spot previously held by Taylor Swift.

The Passtronaut, however, was benched during a game and slipped down the depth chart. He's now the Vikings' third-string quarterback and, unsurprisingly, isn't a talking point anymore.

And Dobbs, for all of his flaws, has more of a track record than DeVito. If he can drop off the radar, so can an undrafted rookie who caught a bit of lightning in a bottle.

Is Esiason's take that the QB should focus on football understandable? Sure, everyone affiliated with the G-Men would want DeVito to focus on football. But, at the same time, NFL players aren't robots. It's understandable for other things to enter the frame. And when you're an undrafted rookie on a nonguaranteed deal, viral stardom is a potential golden ticket. As the cliché says, life comes at you fast.

Tommy Cutlets seems to understand that, even if he's not throwing in the towel just yet.

"It's just work to me. I just go out and I've been trying to enjoy it every single day," he said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again: You never know when a snap is your last, so I try to go out and make the most of every snap when I'm out there. I appreciate every snap that I've had, and I just try to keep moving forward."