Joe

Milton

Milton initially made the 53-man roster but was let go after the initial wave of waiver claims. He went unclaimed when waivers ran Tuesday and now returns to the Cowboys on the practice squad. With Sam Howell winning the QB2 job, Milton will be QB3 heading into the season.

He’ll likely catch on with a practice squad in the next day or two, perhaps with the Cowboys again. Milton had initially made the 53-man roster in Dallas but lost his spot when they claimed Emari Demercado off waivers. The 26-year-old has an arm that was made to play quarterback and a decision-making process that was made to play quarterback in 1975.

This is mostly just a housekeeping item for dynasty managers, but re-draft managers can still file it away for a potential rainy day in Dallas. Things could change via the 2026 NFL Draft, but these two are set to duke it out for now. Milton flubbed his second-half opportunity in Week 18 last year, perhaps prompting the Cowboys to search for a more reliable No. 2 option. The team certainly has a type. Both Howell and Milton possess very strong arms, which should allow the Cowboys to continue attacking downfield if starting QB Dak Prescott were to miss time.

A year after destroying the Bills’ backups in the final game of the 2024-25 season, Milton failed to deliver the same kind of fireworks here. He started the second half for the Cowboys and led five drives, only one of which resulted in points. He’ll finish the season 15-of-24 for 183 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while adding four rushes for 45 yards. He will return as Dak Prescott’s backup in 2026.

He was benched with eight minutes left in the game and Dallas down by 27 points, Joe Milton led a touchdown drive with things out of hand. Both of Prescott’s picks were pretty weird, one of them by dropping edge player Deondrea Tillman. He was hit hard today, taking 14 pressures in 38 dropbacks per PFF. Obviously, this wasn’t the QB1 game you were promised — it didn’t look like the Cowboys had a real answer for their easy underneath stuff getting poached. Prescott will look to rebound in Week 9 against the Cardinals and should remain on the QB1 line.

Testing the limits of what an all-Jake Ferguson offense could deliver to the world, one of Prescott’s picks deflected off George Pickens’ hands, and the other got him benched for Joe Milton in a 17-point deficit the Cowboys were obviously not overcoming. (Milton went 3-of-5 for 41 yards and a pick of his own.) The pass offense lost a lot of oomph without Lamb, and now Prescott gets to deal with an absolutely livid Packers front seven on Sunday night next week. If Lamb misses Week 4, it would be hard to fire up Prescott as more than a borderline QB1. The Dallas defense has forced plenty of passing situations for the Cowboys, as Prescott has 126 pass attempts in three games, but it would be a tough sell against a great defense.

At one point, Milton was 3-of-10 passing. The second-year quarterback who took a sack for a safety on his team’s opening drive looked as erratic as we’ve seen during his time as a pro, and ended the day with an absurd 15.2 ADOT. Milton missed his intended target all night, with PFF attributing just one of his incompletions to a dropped pass. His best play on the night came on a 49-yard completion to Jonathan Mingo, but it’s hard to ignore what we’ve witnessed from Milton through two preseason games. He’s completed 26-of-47 passes (55.3 percent) for one touchdown and two interceptions, and has taken three sacks on 10 pressures. Thankfully for the Cowboys, Dak Prescott is healthy, but it may be time for the Cowboys to explore additional depth behind their QB1 after Milton appears to have reverted to the player we saw for parts of six college seasons.

Milton also rushed for 22 yards on five carries. The 2024 sixth-round pick drew that start in Saturday’s exhibition, and limited mistakes for most of the evening, taking just one sack while throwing an interception that bounced off his receiver’s hands. His lone touchdown pass came on a seven-yard completion to Rivaldo Fairweather, who broke free from his defender in the end zone. Known for his rocket arm and erratic accuracy, Milton continues to impress when given the opportunity and should be in line for more playing time next Saturday when the Cowboys play host to the Ravens.

The 2024 sixth-round pick made one appearance as a rookie, taking over for Drake Maye mid-game in a meaningless Week 18 affair. Milton played extremely well in his brief time in the spotlight, throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 16 yards and another score. The Pats signed Joshua Dobbs to a two-year deal in free agency, locking him in as the backup to Maye for 2025. In turn, the team got what it could for Milton and gave him a chance to be a QB2 behind Dak Prescott. With Prescott under contract through 2028, Milton doesn’t have much fantasy value, even in deep dynasty leagues.

Whether the Patriots engage with trade talks remains to be seen. MassLive.com reported sources close to Milton said he “would prefer to be on a roster that best gives him a chance to compete for the starting job.” These aren’t the first reports we’ve seen about Milton, 25, leaving New England after one season. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowlers reported in March that the Cowboys are interested in acquiring Milton — the 193rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — as a backup to Dak Prescott. Apparently Milton turned some heads around the NFL with his Week 18 start against the Bills last January. He completed 22 of 29 attempts for 241 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 16 yards and another score. Milton had the eighth highest drop back EPA of Week 18 out of 33 qualifying QBs; he posted the week’s third best completion rate over expected. The big-armed Milton threw for more than 2,800 yards and 20 touchdowns in his final collegiate season at Tennessee before being drafted by New England.