Joe Milton has never started an NFL game. The closest he came was in Week 18 of the 2024 season when Patriots starter Drake Maye played only three snaps before giving way to Milton, who played the final 61 snaps.
Milton looked like a starting NFL quarterback in that game, completing 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Less than two years later, Milton is on his third team and has played only 51 snaps in four appearances with Dallas since.
He will make his first career start on Sunday when the Eagles play the Giants.
“I was just pretty much going through the plays, going through the week like I was a starter, or like I was playing, and just being ready,” Milton said Thursday, via Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And that’s what the NFL is about: Just being ready when your name is called, and just preparing for those moments.”
The Eagles signed Milton off the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16 after they placed Jalen Hurts on injured reserve due to blood clots. Tanner McKee started the past three games, but went 0-3 as the Eagles ran their losing streak to six games.
Milton has had a crash course in learning the playbook and the terminology, which he said reminds him of the West Coast scheme he had in New England his rookie season.
Milton was asked how much of the Eagles’ playbook he knows.
“Shoot, whatever’s in this week,” he said with a laugh.
Eagles Clips
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley returned to limited work Thursday after missing Wednesday’s practice with hamstring and back injuries.
Barkley practiced only once last week, getting limited work Friday, before playing 22 snaps on Sunday against the Commanders. He played 10 snaps the week before against the Cowboys.
The rest of the team’s report remained the same.
Wide receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) were out of practice again, with both on track to miss a third consecutive game.
Linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee) and cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring) also didn’t practice Wednesday.
Kicker Jake Elliott (right ankle), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle) and outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) were limited.
Linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), offensive tackle Markel Bell (finger), defensive tackle Jordan Davis (thumb), offensive guard Landon Dickerson (hip), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), quarterback Tanner McKee (chest), defensive back Kenny Moore (glute) and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck) were full participants.
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was named the NFC offensive player of the month for October on Thursday, but he didn’t take part in practice with the team.
Nabers sat out the workout because of his knee. He was not on the injury report at all on Wednesday and told reporters that he would be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Eagles.
The Giants will issue an official designation for Nabers on Friday. They’ll do the same for running back Cam Skattebo, but the outlook seems less bright for him after he missed his second straight day with a hamstring injury.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), wide receiver Charlie Jones (hand), left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin), and defensive lineman Darius Alexander (foot) were all limited participants. Linebacker Abdul Carter (illness), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), cornerback Colton Hood (illness), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), offensive lineman Marcus Mbow (knee), defensive lineman DJ Reader (knee), tight end Thomas Fidone (thumb), linebacker Trace Ford (knee), and linebacker Micah McFadden (foot) were all full participants.
The return of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to the team’s facility on Wednesday is a reminder that plenty of questions remain regarding the decisions made as to his health before flying to London with a blood clot in his leg, playing in London with a blood clot in his leg, and flying back from London with a blood clot in his leg.
A widespread presumption has emerged that the NFL and NFL Players Association have commenced a joint investigation into the care and recommendations Hurts received from team and league doctors. However, the investigation has yet to start.
The statement issued by the league and the NFLPA said only that they are “working together to review the matter.” A formal investigation has not yet begun, of any kind. The union has the right under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to initiate an investigation. That hasn’t happened, either.
If the NFLPA will be working with the NFL in any official investigation, it’s critical that the union insist on a process that will be fair, objective, and transparent. It can’t be a CYA exercise.
Basically, it can’t give off the same vibes that have emanated from the team and the league, to date. The union can’t afford to create the impression that it’s complicit in a coverup. And the process needs to lead to real change, aimed at ensuring that someone disconnected from the team (and possibly from the league, especially as to international games) will be involved in medical decisions as to potentially serious health situations.
The NFL and the NFLPA already employ an unaffiliated doctor when it comes to diagnosing concussions and clearing players to return after suffering concussions. Other health conditions require a similar layer of detachment, in order to ensure that the shared incentives of the team and the player for the player to play will not override the importance of treating the player like a patient.
Nick Sirianni has never missed the playoffs since becoming the Eagles’ head coach and he’s won one of the two Super Bowls the team has played in during his tenure, but the waters have gotten rockier for him over the last 12 months.
The Eagles will bring a six-game losing streak into Sunday’s game against the Giants and the team is 5-11 since an 8-2 start to the 2025 season. While his overall history and the overall circumstances of this season would say that he’s earned a chance to turn things around, Eagles history says that team owner Jeffrey Lurie hasn’t shied away from making changes after a season goes awry.
Doug Pederson also won a Super Bowl for the Eagles, but was dismissed after snapping a three-year postseason run by going 4-11-1 in 2020. That may have factored into a question for Sirianni on Wednesday about his communications with Lurie during the team’s current difficulties.
“I’ve always felt nothing but complete support from Mr. Lurie in everything, through good times, through bad times,” Sirianni said, via a transcript from the team. “That’s huge. That’s huge to be able to know that the owner has your back in all situations. We’ve been high of highs, we’ve been low, and I’ve felt nothing but support and my communication remains the same with him as it has [been] whether we’re on a winning streak or whether we’re on a losing streak. I love that steadiness, and I’m trying to give that same thing to the guys: the consistency, the steadiness, because I know I’m receiving it from the very top.”
Sirianni spoke before word broke that the Eagles will veer away from steadiness at quarterback this week. They’ll give Joe Milton a chance to run the offense well enough to snap a skid that will certainly impact Sirianni’s job security if it doesn’t come to an end relatively soon.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts made an appearance at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday, Tim McManus of ESPN reports.
It is the first time some players had seen Hurts since he went on injured reserve with blood clots in his lungs.
Hurts sat in on the team meeting and additional meetings, but he did not address the team.
Coach Nick Sirianni did not address a question Wednesday about whether the quarterback had been at the facility.
“I’ve talked to him and am in constant communication with him and know he’s resting and recovering,” Sirianni said. “I miss him like crazy. But nothing new on that front. I know he’s resting and recovering, and we’re all still praying for him and hoping for a speedy recovery.”
Hurts, 28, went on injured reserve on Oct. 17 and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Tanner McKee went 0-3 in Hurts’ absence before being benched for Joe Milton this week.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley missed practice Wednesday with his hamstring and back injuries.
Barkley practiced only once last week, getting limited work Friday, before playing 22 snaps on Sunday against the Commanders. He played 10 snaps the week before against the Cowboys.
Wide receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) remained out of practice, with both on track to miss a third consecutive game.
Linebacker Jihaad Campbell (hamstring/quad), defensive back Michael Carter (abdomen), wide receiver Britain Covey (knee) and cornerback Jonathan Jones (hamstring) also didn’t practice Wednesday.
Kicker Jake Elliott (right ankle), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle) and outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt (knee/ankle) were limited.
Linebacker Zack Baun (shoulder), offensive tackle Markel Bell (finger), defensive tackle Jordan Davis (thumb), offensive guard Landon Dickerson (hip), tight end Dallas Goedert (knee), quarterback Tanner McKee (chest), defensive back Kenny Moore (glute) and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (neck) were full participants.
Barkley was able to play through his injuries on Sunday night but played just 22 snaps after playing just 10 against the Cowboys the week before. Barkley missed the first two days of practice last week before playing, so that could be the plan again this week.
When George Costanza pitched the show about nothing to NBC president Russell Dalrymple, Dalrymple asked, “Well, why am I watching it?”
“Because it’s on TV,” Costanza said.
More than 30 years later, that sentiment still applies. As evidenced by the fact that, per Nielsen, 19.015 million (on average) watched Sunday night’s snoozefest between the Eagles and Commanders on the network that Dalrymple once ran.
It’s an amazing number, given that it was the 2-5 Eagles against the 1-4-1 Commanders. The game itself wasn’t particularly compelling, and it followed afternoon windows that culminated in a down-to-the-wire showdown between the Chiefs and the Broncos.
The league could have flexed the game out of the evening window. It chose not to. In the end, the not-ready-for-prime-time game managed to attract far more viewers than anyone would have expected.
It helped that there wasn’t a 9:30 a.m. ET game in Week 8. Fourteen straight hours of football is a lot, even for the most ardent fan.
Then again, Commanders-Eagles was a lot. Even for the most ardent fan. And more than 19 million nevertheless watched the game.
Giants running back Cam Skattebo said he felt something in his hamstring near the end of the team’s Week 7 win over the Texans and it’s still an issue coming out of the team’s bye week.
Skattebo was not spotted taking part in the team’s bonus practice earlier this week and he was officially listed as out of practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Harbaugh said “we’ll see” when he was asked if Skattebo’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Eagles could be impacted by the injury.
Linebacker Abdul Carter (illness) also missed practice, but Harbaugh indicated there was no concern about his status for the game.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), cornerback Colton Hood (illness), wide receiver Charlie Jones (hand), and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were limited participants. Tight end Theo Johnson (neck), offensive tackle Marcus Mbow (knee), and defensive lineman DJ Reader (knee) were all full participants for the Giants.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Monday that the team would not be making a quarterback change for their Week 9 game against the Giants, but it appears he has changed his mind.
ESPN reports that Joe Milton will get the start this week. Tanner McKee has started all three games since Jalen Hurts was placed on injured reserve and the Eagles have lost all three of those contests.
Milton was signed off the Cowboys’ practice squad when Hurts was placed on injured reserve. He has not appeared in a game for the Eagles, but made five appearances for the Patriots and Cowboys over the last two seasons. He was 37-of-53 for 424 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while also running 15 times for 66 yards and a score.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio called the trade that landed this week’s opposing quarterback J.J. McCarthy a “steal” for the Giants and the Eagles will look for a similar offensive jolt from Milton when the NFC East teams face off this week.
