New York Giants Sign Tommy Stevens to Play Tight End
Tommy Stevens, who left Penn State for a chance to be a starting quarterback, is an NFL tight end again.
The New York Giants announced Wednesday that they have signed Stevens to play tight end. Stevens is playing for his third NFL team after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2020 draft.
New Orleans initially converted Stevens (6-5, 235 pounds) to tight end last season. The Saints waived Stevens in early September and re-signed him to the practice squad in November.
Two days later, the Carolina Panthers signed Stevens to their practice squad and returned him to quarterback. Stevens played five snaps at quarterback in the Panthers' season finale against, fittingly, New Orleans. After signing Stevens to a reserves/futures contract in January, Carolina released him in June.
Now the Giants look to gain some production from Stevens, whom Penn State coach James Franklin introduced as the starting "Lion" prior to the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. It was a hybrid H-back, tight-end role, a nod to the many ways Stevens had contributed that season. In 2017, Stevens and Saquon Barkley were the only Penn State players to run, throw and catch touchdowns.
In 2018, Stevens carried the ball 28 times, nearly three times as often as he threw it (11). Injuries limited Stevens to seven games that season, and he transferred to Mississippi State after spring practice in 2019.
"I did some of the similar things at Penn State in my time there and I've kind of grown up playing multiple positions," Stevens said after being drafted. "It wasn't totally foreign to me, but obviously it's going to need some fine-tuning to have success in the NFL."
Stevens started nine games at quarterback in 2019 for then-Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead. He threw for 1,459 total yards at Penn State and Mississippi State. Stevens also caught 14 passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns, all at Penn State.
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