Tommy DeVito has caught lightning in a bottle, but most NFL owners aren’t quite ready to put him in the echelon of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
As NFL owners voted earlier this week to expand the international slate from four games a year to eight, the lone holdout was Bears owner George McCaskey, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
McCaskey was zealous about guarding the in-person experience for his own fans who circle dates on the calendar to see particular opposing quarterbacks come through town.
“We have generational talents coming in,” McCaskey said, according to a CBS source who was present in the meeting. “Fans want to see Patrick Mahomes coming in. They want to see Josh Allen coming in. They want to see Jalen Hurts coming in. They want to see Tommy DeVito coming in.”
The source stressed to CBS that it was a “good-natured and well-received quip” that drew universal laughter in the room as “the best line of the entire meeting.”
If DeVito keeps up the streak he’s on, NFL owners will not be laughing for long.
The Giants have won three games in a row with DeVito at starting quarterback, defeating the Commanders, Patriots and Packers.
McCaskey had likely seen DeVito lead a final drive with poise to set up a last-second field goal to beat the Packers, the Bears’ arch rivals, on Monday night.
In the tri-state area, DeVito has taken on cult status, as ardent Giants fans flock to delis in his New Jersey neighborhood in search of the chicken cutlets he’s exclaimed to love.
“The kid’s done a good job,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll told reporters Monday night after the Packers victory. “I’m proud of him.”
As for NFL international games, the league announced earlier this week that there will be a game in Brazil next year — in addition to now-customary games in London and Germany — and there have been reports that the league is targeting Madrid, Spain for eventual expansion.