Which version of Tommy DeVito will lead the Giants to finish 2024?

Tommy DeVito is the Giants’ starting quarterback again.

The Giants finally made their quarterback change on Monday, benching Daniel Jones (who had a longer leash than he had any business with) in favor of DeVito, who was the third-string quarterback for most of the season.

The news comes nearly a year to the day after DeVito earned his second career NFL start, then reeled off three straight wins in an otherwise lost season.

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But now that the Tommy Cutlets magic is long gone, it’s fair to wonder what version of the undrafted Cedar Grove native they’ll get this time around.

Will he be the highly motivated version that posted 595 passing yards, five touchdowns and 0 interceptions in wins over the Commanders, Patriots and Packers?

Or will he be the player who was (smartly) benched for Tyrod Taylor at halftime in Week 16 against Philadelphia?

While Giants ownership should want the latter to bolster their draft position — especially since this year’s quarterback class is considered weak — they’ll be rooting hard for the former.

The Giants are 2-8 and need to keep losing if they want to land their preferred long-term replacement for Jones in next year’s draft.

Last year they also opened 2-8, then finished 4-3 thanks in large part to DeVito’s wins. This crushed their chances of drafting top-prize quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye — both of whom coach Brian Daboll loved pre-draft.

But remember: Those wins came against two fairly weak opponents in the Commanders (4-7 at the time) and Patriots (2-9) and a Packers team (6-7) still finding its footing.

This year’s board is much more difficult.

The Giants, according to Tank A Thon, have the fourth toughest strength of schedule among teams not currently in the playoff picture, with matchups against three playoff teams in the Ravens, Falcons and Eagles and against two teams well in the playoff hunt in The Buccaneers and Colts are still to come.

They also face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving and the Saints in Week 14 — games that could be confidence-boosting for DeVito as he faces two of the bottom three defenses in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

The point is: Aside from a handful of games, don’t expect the Giants to be magically fixed now that Jones is on the bench.

That’s not to say he’ll be terrible. DeVito gets the weaker part of the two-week schedule, and his knowledge of the Giants’ system has expanded and he’s improved by “leaps and bounds” this year, according to quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney.

Maybe the Giants locker room and their fan base need a little Cutlets magic to end a dismal season.

At the same time, the team has to consider how much he destroyed their draft position last year and whether they want a repeat of that with a weaker QB crop this time around.

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Ryan Novozinsky can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on X @ryannovo62.