Joe

Milton

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.

Doing a hit on NFL Live, Fowler said the Cowboys may not get a young backup quarterback with upside in the draft, so they might be interested in pursuing a trade. This is exactly how the Cowboys found themselves in the Trey Lance business, and with only Will Grier behind Dak Prescott after Cooper Rush joined the Ravens, the need is certainly there for Dallas. Milton has been the subject of trade rumors all offseason after his fabulous Week 18 game where he led the Patriots out of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. With three years of team control left, the Patriots probably are in no rush to deal Milton unless they can get a Day 2 pick out of it.

Schultz notes that the Pats want to trade him to a situation where he can continue to develop. He said the team should be able to get a deal done. New England has agreed to terms with Josh Dobbs on a two-year, $8 million contract. That takes care of the backup gig and leaves Milton without much of a role on the team. The Pats almost certainly signed Dobbs knowing Milton would be traded down the road. The cannon-armed quarterback played the bulk of New England’s Week 18 finale last year and threw for 241 yards plus a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown. Milton remains a developmental option, but he has the physical tools of a starting quarterback. Staring down a weak free agent crop and an underwhelming draft class, someone will take a shot on Milton this offseason.

Now on the wrong side of 30, Dobbs arrives as Jacoby Brissett’s replacement to be Drake Maye’s caddy. We would assume Dobbs wins the backup job over second-year pro Joe Milton. Although overexposed as as a multi-week starter, Dobbs’ dual-threat game has an “any given Sunday” element to it. You have a chance. Just not if you need to start him for two months. Considering Maye’s propensity to take mammoth rookie hits, Dobbs has fairly decent odds of seeing 2025 playing time, but hopefully not.