With Drake Maye playing at a Pro Bowl level and leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl, all eyes were on him in 2025. By extension, the spotlight was far less bright for the other members of New England’s quarterback depth chart, second-stringer Joshua Dobbs and third-stringer Tommy DeVito.
Dobbs, like Maye, remains under contract for 2026 and in line to return as the team’s QB2. DeVito, on the other hand, is headed for free agency and facing an uncertain future.
Let’s assess his situation, and whether or not the Patriots might consider bringing him back.
Hard facts
Name: Tommy DeVito
Position: Quarterback
Jersey number: 16
Opening day age: 28 (8/7/1998)
Measurements: 6’2”, 210 lbs, 29 7/8” arm length, 10 1/8” hand size, 4.59s 40-yard dash, 4.34s short shuttle, 33” vertical jump, 9’6” broad jump, 7.89 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New York Giants (2023-24), New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Syracuse (2017-21), Illinois (2022)
Rated as either a three- or four-star recruit coming out of Don Bosco Preparatory in Ramsey, NJ, DeVito opted to take his talents to Syracuse. Despite spending five seasons with the Orange, however, he only started 18 games before entering the transfer portal midway through his 2021 redshirt campaign campaign. He moved to Illinois for his final year of eligibility and went on to have the most productive season of his career.
Starting all 13 games he appeared in during the 2022 season, DeVito completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,650 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. He did attempt to stay in school for another year, but the NCAA denied his request. Instead, he headed to the NFL.
DeVito went undrafted in 2023, and subsequently joined the Giants as a free agent. He opened his rookie season on the practice squad but still ended up starting six games (including a 10-7 win over the Patriots that indirectly helped New England land Drake Maye in the following year’s draft). Despite the Giants going 3-3 with him at the helm and DeVito becoming a fan favorite, he spent most of 2024 in a backup role and started only two more games.
When he was waived by the Giants ahead of the 2025 roster cutdown deadline, he had appeared in a combined 12 games with eight starts, completing 145 of 222 passes (65.3%) for 1,358 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. DeVito subsequently joined the Patriots in a backup role.
2025 review
Stats: N/A
Season recap: After finding partial success during his first two seasons in the NFL, DeVito entered 2025 as part of a rebuilt Giants quarterback group. The team had drafted Jaxson Dart in the first round and also acquired veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in the offseason, putting him in a fight for his roster life.
It was not one he would win. Despite going 30-for-38 (78.9%) for 323 yards with four touchdowns and an interception in his 55 preseason snaps, the Giants opted to release him in late August in favor of the Dart, Wilson and Winston combo at quarterback. While he appeared to be a candidate to be re-signed to New York’s practice squad, he did not make it that far: the Patriots, owning fourth priority on the waiver claim order, picked him up one day after he got cut.
In New England, DeVito joined a rigid quarterback depth chart. Drake Maye was the clear-cut No. 1, with veteran Joshua Dobbs having spent all of the offseason and training camp as his backup. As a consequence, the latest addition to the group ended up slotting into the No. 3 role.
As such, DeVito was made inactive each game of the season. Consequently, he ended 2025 with zero snaps between the regular season and playoffs.
Free agency preview
Free agency status: Restricted free agent (RFA)
What is his contract history? DeVito entered the NFL on a classic three-year free agency deal, but has since signed several different contracts. Last year, the Giants retained him on an exclusive rights tender worth $1.03 million — the same pact that transferred to New England after he was claimed off waivers by the Patriots. In total, his contractual career earnings have been calculated by the Over the Cap at $2.6 million.
Which teams might be in the running? While it would be natural to assume teams with quarterback questions could be after DeVito should he make it to free agency, he likely would not be brought in by any team to save their franchise. Instead, he would be a backup option at the position and therefore be potentially attractive to all 32 teams in the NFL, if only as a possible camp arm.
Why should he be expected back? With Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs atop the depth chart, the Patriots do not need DeVito to anything other than what he did in 2025: serve as a scout team quarterback and emergency option on game day. He has experience in those roles, the system, and the NFL as a whole, meaning he would be well-suited to continue serving as a complementary piece in New England’s quarterback room at relatively little cost.
Why should he be expected to leave? While his experience is a plus, the Patriots might prefer to go with a higher-upside developmental option as their third quarterback in 2026. In addition, DeVito himself might go to a team where the road to playing time is more open than it would be in New England.
What is his projected free agency outcome? The Patriots will not tender DeVito as a restricted free agent, but instead re-sign him to a one-year minimum contract with a base salary of $1.145 million plus a minor fully-guaranteed signing bonus to sweeten the deal.
Now it’s your turn to play GM: What would you do with Tommy DeVito? Use an RFA tender? Re-sign him to a different deal? Not re-sign him at all? Please head down to the comment section to share your plan.