EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — With Tommy DeVito still dealing with a sore forearm, Drew Lock will make his second straight start at quarterback for the Giants when New York plays host to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Coach Brian Daboll announced the decision on Wednesday, saying Lock showed some good things against Dallas in a loss on Thanksgiving and he will get all the snaps with the first team.
“I think the reps help a ton," Lock said Wednesday. ”I’d say anybody in this position would say the same thing. Getting back out there, letting them hear your cadence, letting them hear you calling it in the huddle, rhythm and timing with the receivers, even rhythm and timing for me with my feet on certain plays, whatever we’ve got up this week, it helps tremendously."
Lock was 21 of 32 for 178 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown against Dallas. "He ran for a career-high 57 yards, scoring on an 8-yard run and setting up Tyrone Tracy’s short TD run with a 28-yard scramble.
DeVito was hurt in his first start after replacing Daniel Jones for the game against Tampa Bay on Nov. 24. He missed the Dallas game and was limited at practice Wednesday. Daboll said it remains to be seen whether he can be the backup Sunday at MetLife Stadium, where the Giants (2-10) are winless in six home games.
If he can't go, the recently signed Tim Boyle would be the backup against the Saints (4-8).
The Giants have had three different starters at quarterback in the past three games.
“It’s professional football,” said Lock, who started against Dallas without any practice because of the short turnaround before that game.
“You expect roller coasters here and there. But, just excited to be able to go out and play one more time and get to practice with these guys, let them feel my energy a little bit.”
Lock, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, was Jones' backup for the first 10 games. When Daboll benched Jones after a 2-8 start, he jumped DeVito ahead of Lock because the New Jersey product sparked the team to a three-game winning streak with Jones and then backup Tyrod Taylor hurt last season.
DeVito hurt his right foreman late in a 30-7 loss to the Buccaneers, and Lock got his chance.
New York is dealing with several injuries this week. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (elbow) and rookie tight end Theo Johnson (foot surgery) were placed on injured reserve on Monday. Defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck/shoulder), left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), right tackle Evan Neal (hip), inside linebacker Bobby Okereke (back) and cornerback Deonte Banks (rib) are all considered week to week.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1) leaps over New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) and linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Carl Lawson (55) sacks New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) during the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)
New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) celebrates after running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
NEW YORK (AP) — The masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” emblazoned on his ammunition, echoing a phrase used by industry critics, two law enforcement officials said Thursday.
The words were written in permanent marker, according to one of the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation into the shooting early Wednesday outside a Manhattan hotel and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
With the gunman still at large, police also released photos of a "person of interest" wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The images, showing an unmasked man in the lobby of a Manhattan hostel, add to a collection of photos and video that have circulated since the shooting — including footage of the attack itself, as well as still frames of the suspected gunman stopping at a Starbucks beforehand.
Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush as he walked from his midtown hotel to the company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton across the street, blocks from tourist draws such as Radio City Music Hall, the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center, where the famed Christmas tree was lit Wednesday night. The reason for the killing remained unknown, but New York City police say evidence firmly points to it being a targeted attack.
The messages on the ammunition mimic the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which is commonly used by lawyers and insurance industry critics to describe tactics used to avoid paying claims. It refers to insurers delaying payment, denying a claim and then defending their actions. Health insurers like UnitedHealthcare have become frequent targets of criticism from doctors and patients for denying claims or complicating access to care.
Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the Hilton and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the shooter fled. Inside a nearby trash can, they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that they say the gunman purchased from Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The city's crime lab is examining those items for DNA and fingerprints.
The killing and the shooter’s movements in the minutes before and afterward were captured on some of the multitude of security cameras in that part of the city. The shooter fled on a bicycle and was last seen riding into Central Park.
A tip that the shooter may have stayed at a hostel brought police Thursday morning to at least two such establishments on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, according to one of the law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation. The photos made public Thursday were taken in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel.
“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, can not comment at this time,” hostel spokesperson Danielle Brumfitt said in an emailed statement.
Members of the public have flooded police with tips — many unfounded. Police searched a Long Island Rail Road train Wednesday night after a commuter claimed to have spotted the shooter, but they found no sign of the gunman.
“We’re following up on every single tip that comes in,” Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves, a police spokesperson, said. ”That little piece of information could be the missing piece of the puzzle that ties everything together.”
Based on surveillance video and evidence from the scene, investigators believe the shooter had at least some firearms training and experience with guns and that the weapon was equipped with a silencer, one of the law enforcement officials told the AP.
Investigators were also looking into whether the suspect had pre-positioned a bike as part of an escape plan, the official said.
Security video shows the killer approaching Thompson from behind, leveling his pistol and firing several shots, barely pausing to clear a gun jam while the executive tumbled to the sidewalk. Cameras showed him fleeing the block across a pedestrian plaza before getting on the bicycle.
Police released several images of the man wearing a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face — a look that would not have attracted attention on a chilly morning. They've also used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intensive search for the killer, while also interviewing Thompson's coworkers, searching his hotel room and scouring his social media.
Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in a Minneapolis suburb, had been with Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years.
His wife, Paulette, told NBC News on Wednesday that he told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
The insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting in New York to update investors on its direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference early in the wake of Thompson’s death.
UnitedHealthcare provides coverage for more than 49 million Americans and brought in more than $281 billion in revenue last year. It is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
In October, UnitedHealthcare was named along with Humana and CVS in a Senate report detailing how its denial rate for prior authorizations for some Medicare Advantage patients has surged in recent years.
Balsamo reported from Washington.
New York Police investigators exit the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Members of the media line a sidewalk outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A woman crosses Amsterdam Avenue outside the HI New York City hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed.(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Police community affairs officers enter the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Police investigators arrive at the HI New York City Hostel, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in New York, where police say the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may have stayed. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
The UnitedHealthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., lowered its flags to half-staff on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in honor of CEO Brian Thompson, who was fatally shot outside a hotel in New York. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Members of the New York police crime scene unit investigate bullets lying on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
A reward poster hangs on a light pole outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot ,Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
A New York police officer stands outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, leaves a news conference at police headquarters, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, concerning the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
This combination of images provided by the New York City Police Department shows the suspect sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
A New York police officer stands on 54th Street outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Bullets lie on the sidewalk at the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
This image provided by the New York City Police Department shows the suspect sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)
This undated photo provided by UnitedHealth Group shows UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via AP)
This still image from surveillance video obtained by the Associated Press shows the suspect, left, sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, center, outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Members of the New York police crime scene unit pick up cups marking the spots where bullets lie as they investigate the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)