Giants Country

Sean Payton Says Giants Inquired About This Member of the Broncos

Payton said the Giants called about a quarterback--but no, not the one you think.

Patricia Traina

Sean Payton Says Giants Inquired About This Member of the Broncos
Sean Payton Says Giants Inquired About This Member of the Broncos /
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As the New York Giants watched the injury bug eat away at their quarterback position--first it was Daniel Jones (neck and ACL) and then Tyrod Taylor (rib cage)--New York made a Hail Mary attempt to bring back a familiar face to be their Savior at the position.

That face was Davis Webb, the Giants' backup quarterback in 2022, who retired after that season and signed with the Denver Broncos to become their quarterback coach, and that revelation came from none other than Broncos head coach Sean Payton during an appearance on the "Up and Adams Show" on Friday with host Kay Adams.

Payton, appearing with former Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Jones, recalled the Giants' conversation with Webb, saying to Jones, "When you got hurt this year, Davis got a call about ‘Can you come back to play? I’m like, ‘Davis, you took this job. You’re coaching.’"

It's unclear if Payton was joking, however.

League rules prohibit coaches from switching to playing status to avoid circumventing the salary cap. If Webb had wanted to return to playing, he would have had to submit a letter of resignation, and the Broncos would have had to accept it.

That obviously never happened, and the Giants ended up eventually turning to undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito, whose three-game winning streak sparked a sense of excitement many New York fans compared to the rise of NBA point guard Jeremy Lin, whose play for the New York Knicks sparked a period known as "Lin-Sanity" during the 2011-2012 season.

Webb was originally a third-round draft pick by the Giants in 2017 but got lost in the shuffle when the team fired head coach Ben McAdoo and replaced him with Pat Shurmur, who cut Webb from the team the following year.

After a stint with the Jets in 2018, he went to Buffalo, where he crossed paths with future Giants head coach Brian Daboll, then the Bills offensive coordinator. When Daboll was hired as the Giants' head coach in 2022, Webb joined the team as a free agent. Thanks to his knowledge of Daboll's offense, he proved to be an invaluable source of knowledge for Jones as he was learning the new system.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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