SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a Super Bowl serving as an introduction to a new wave of NFL stars, one quarterback already had his face on national commercials for Progressive and Pizza Hut.
He won’t take a snap in Super Bowl LX unless all goes haywire for the Patriots.
Tommy DeVito Mania didn’t claim the same foothold on the 2025 NFL season that it did the previous two seasons — when the hometown underdog was one of the few interesting things about the hopeless Giants — but it’s been a welcome change out of the spotlight.
Except for when Patriots teammates lovingly jab him over his funny commercial subbing in as the “backup” for a non-smiling kid in a family photo.
“That was cool and fun, but that’s a Jersey, New York thing, if you will,” DeVito said Monday at Super Bowl LX Opening Night. “That’s going to be tied to that. Mainly, because I’m from there. That was one of the most special teams in my life — and I love it every time I go back — but this is a different version of myself, and I’m happy with that.”
DeVito’s alter ego “Tommy Cutlets” lived with his parents, snacked on chicken cutlets with vodka sauce and celebrated touchdowns by pinching his fingers together.
He led the Giants to three straight wins as an undrafted rookie in 2023 and was given the first shot to replace the released Daniel Jones in 2024.
Since getting claimed off waivers by the Patriots in August, however, DeVito has settled into life as a more typical third-string quarterback.
He hasn’t taken a snap behind Drake Maye and Josh Dobbs.
“I’m looked at as Tommy DeVito the football player and not ‘Tommy Cutlets,’ the at-home Italian kid down the street,” DeVito said. “I think it was good for me. It was good for everything outside of me — family. It couldn’t happen at a better place.”
DeVito was the No. 3 quarterback in both his seasons with the Giants.
He still made eight starts when he wasn’t drawing hourslong autograph lines.
“As a competitor, you always want to play,” DeVito said. “But my role each week, I am giving our defensive guys a look akin to no other. Trying to replicate, I’m watching film on the [opposing] quarterbacks to give them the best possible advantage.”
His goals this week?
Replicate the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold and make lasting memories.
“I’m trying to soak it all in,” DeVito said. “You never know when it’s going to be your last opportunity because everything has to fall right.”
That’s a lesson he learned in hard times with the Giants.
“Adversity brings out the best in you,” DeVito said. “My time in New York … was filled with ups and downs. That was so beneficial for my career because I’ve seen a lot in a little time. The good, the bad and the ugly.”
All the familiar rushed back to DeVito on Monday as he faced questions about ordering at Italian delis across North Jersey and was interviewed by someone wearing the fedora that became the trademark of his agent Sean Stellato.
DeVito praised Italian food in Boston’s “North End” but admitted bias.
“Nothing’s quite like home,” he said. “My mom is back home — and nothing is beating her food.”
There’s Tommy Cutlets.
