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The New York Giants plan to start quarterback Drew Lock on Sunday at the Atlanta Falcons, per head coach Brian Daboll to reporters.
Lock missed last Sunday’s 35-14 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens due to heel and left elbow injuries, but he will practice Wednesday.
Tommy DeVito started Sunday but suffered a concussion in the first half. Tim Boyle took over for the second half. DeVito has a chance to clear concussion protocol in time to be Lock’s backup on Sunday, per Daboll.
The Giants signed Lock to a one-year, $5 million contract to be Daniel Jones’ backup this season. However, New York’s 2024 campaign has long spiraled out of control, to the point where the Giants benched (and then released) Jones.
Surprisingly, the Giants bypassed Lock in favor of starting DeVito for the first game in the post-Jones era on Sunday, Nov. 24 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
DeVito suffered a right forearm injury in that game and then sat the team’s Thanksgiving Day tilt against the Dallas Cowboys.
Lock was QB1 for that matchup and also for the team’s Dec. 8 game against the New Orleans Saints as DeVito continued to work his way back from the injury during the practice week.
Then DeVito moved back into the starting lineup when Lock was ruled out with injuries suffered during the Saints game. Now it’s back to Lock again.
Needless to say, the constant quarterback shuffling probably hasn’t been a fun exercise for anyone involved as the team trudges through a nine-game losing streak that could very well be 12 by the time the season mercilessly ends on Jan. 5 at the Philadelphia Eagles. New York may finish this season with an NFL-worst 2-15 mark, which would also set a franchise record for losses.
At any rate, the Giants should likely be in position to draft a quarterback in April, perhaps Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward.
In the meantime, a quarterback they bypassed in the 2024 draft, Michael Penix Jr., will be making his first-ever start for the Falcons. So the Giants will potentially be getting a look at what could have been when Penix leads the Falcons on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
