The Patriots are trading quarterback Joe Milton to the Cowboys, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
Dallas will send one of its fifth-round compensatory picks in April’s draft to New England in exchange for Milton and a seventh-rounder, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. The Patriots received the 171st overall pick and the Cowboys now have the 217th overall pick, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Milton was a sixth-round pick in 2024 who spent his rookie year as the Patriots’ QB3 behind No. 3 pick Drake Maye and veteran Jacoby Brissett. The 6-foot-5, 246-pound Milton brings a rare set of physical tools, including an especially powerful arm. He impressed in his lone appearance last season, completing 22 of his 29 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown, and a 111.4 passer rating in Week 18 against the Bills.
That performance helped to generate some trade buzz surrounding Milton, which picked up after the Patriots signed Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs arrived in New England to take over Brissett’s role, keeping Milton third on the depth chart with little potential for playing time. Milton was not seen as “an ideal backup” for Maye, according to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. The team even told Dobbs that they were looking to trade Milton in order to build their quarterback room around Maye and prioritize his development, per Breer.
Milton also wanted out of New England, seeing himself as a future starter and knowing he would have a better chance at seeing the field elsewhere, both in the short- and long-term. The Patriots granted permission for Milton to seek a trade, per Schultz, and the Cowboys “showed the most interest from the start.” The two teams had been negotiating for a few weeks before talks accelerated at league meetings in Florida, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
A number of other teams expressed interest in trading for Milton, according to Schultz, including the Raiders, Eagles, Giants, and Steelers. The Patriots had at least one better offer on the table, but worked with Milton to send him to his preferred landing spot in Dallas.
“My family grew up a Cowboys fan,” said Milton (via Schultz). “My mom always had a Cowboys shirt on. She always talked about them. Living in Texas has been a longtime dream of mine. And now I’m with them. I’m ready to work.”
Milton will arrive in Dallas as the presumptive backup to Dak Prescott. The Cowboys explored an extension with 2024 backup Trey Lance after Prescott went down last season, per Archer, but the former No. 3 pick remains a free agent. Dallas also had interest in Brissett and Drew Lock in free agency, according to Archer.
Milton has three years and $3.2MM remaining on his contract, per OverTheCap, while Brissett’s shorter, two-year deal with the Cardinals is worth three times as much. With Prescott still commanding the highest salary in the NFL, the Cowboys opted to trade for a young, cost-controlled with developmental upside over the next three years.
This is a bizarre trade.
They should’ve brought back Cowboy legend Gucci DiNucci to be QB2.
The Nooch, out of James Madison University!
Tremendous trade by the Cowboys…
A 5th for Milton and a 7th?!?!?
JJ finally got over on another GM…
6’5 250👀👀…and a strong accurate arm…(check Tennessee highlights) and can run?!?!
Love the Trade…
Trey Lance pt 2. Calm down
Good luck to your season if this guys starting games or even playing in them really
I don’t know if I would describe Milton as accurate.
I can only go by what I’ve seen on him soo far…
They don’t include incompletions and turnovers in highlights lol
if you need a quarterback to throw it 80 yards, Joe Milton will throw it 80 yards. If you need a quarterback to throw it five yards, Milton will throw it 80 yards.
All of that is true, but I have to wonder if Milton gives your team less as a prospect than Josh Dobbs, who is also extremely inaccurate, but without the arm strength offered by Milton. Sure, Dobbs has experience, but is his net worth really much more than Milton’s?
The Pats do get a decent pick, though. That makes it worth something for them, which is a good return.
When Jerry Jones says ‘WE’RE ALL IN!’
This is what he’s talking about. lol
Milton taking Dem Boyz to the super bowl
It’s just nonsensical to go from being a backup to being a backup
They actually did it lmao
madlads
If the Pats are lucky maybe they land a QB3 that can become a solid QB 2 with that pick.
Or just draft BPA with that pick. Whats the point of trading your QB3 that could be a solid QB2 for a chance at a QB3 that could be a solid QB2? Or were you being sarcastic lol
Totally Sarcastic.
Seems redundant and that’s if they are lucky with that pick working out
Seems like they should have just kept him. If Drake ever went down and Milton played decent he would have even better trade value or just keep him.
Ah, figured but its hard to tell on here. And idk, i think Milton really wanted out and thats not something you like to have in a locker-room and they ended up turning a 6th round pick into a 5th. I think Vrabel having Dobbs as a vet to help Maye is better than Milton and fans thinking he should start after a bad Maye day
I see your point. Makes sense.
They had to replace the costly-overhyped-never-gonna-pan-out qb spot since Trey Lance is gone.
Joe Milton is not costly.
I would disagree. Teams don’t normally throw around fifth rounders for nothing this time of year.
5th rounder
I wouldnt have sent him for that. Better to have him around IMO
Good for Milton
It’s like jerry is getting lance again, but in a crappy qb class a 5th round isn’t a big deal.
Probably league sanctioned. A steal for Dallas.
TN Vols fan. I like joe, I wish he would have been taught or learned (not sure if it was him or coaching) how to put some touch on the ball, which I think would help his accuracy. Strong arm obviously, throws it 95mph, but unfortunately it doesn’t matter if your 65 yrds down field or RB on a screen play (and usually at their feet). he wasnt called overthrow Joe for nothing. Hopefully he will get better and at least be a good QB in the NFL.
How does this help him? He had a better chance at starting with the Pats
I don’t think was done to make Joe Milton happy. The Pats obviously view him as a useless piece. Maybe they thought since he had a good game against backups someone would be dumb and give them a sweet draft pick for him (I’m thinking of the 1998 Rob Johnson heist). But the sweet draft pick never materialized so they dumped him for what they could get.
Jerry Jones wins the off-season again! Nothing the man can’t do!
Hope his owner noticed! GM Jerry deserves a raise!
So the Patriots trade the 2024 #193 pick for a 2025 #174 pick but also give the Cowboys a 2025 7th (either #220 or #238). So basically a push. Big whoop.
They must have hired a coach who was with the Patriots last year and told Jerry “He’s a cant miss prospect.” lol
Literally nobody said that. Nobody.
I mean I was hoping they’d draft someone like Brady Cook with one of their 5ths, so this isn’t terrible. They drop 46 picks late in the draft for a project.
Jury heard Philly was in on him and upped his offer despite the fact Philly was never going to give up anything of value for their QB3.
Only the patriots would make a boneheaded move like this instead of getting the best package they can considering they need just about everything (QB,CB) they really are a clown show now
I agree that they are a clown show, but not because they traded their 3rd string QB for a #5. This trade will have minimal impact for both teams.
So … why not just draft him in the 5th or 6th round (before the Patriots) of the 2024 draft ??
This will have Cowboys fans saying “Dak will be traded!”. While I have never been a huge Dak fan (the player that is, huge fan of his off field character) he isn’t going anywhere. Who is trading for that huge contract? The Steelers? It just isn’t happening.
Considering Dak’s injury history the past few seasons and Rush off to Baltimore I’d say he has a good chance of playing
Jamarcus Russell clone…rumored that he ballooned up over 260lb and Josh McDaniels not a fan.
Keep Milton and put the Dobbs money towards Kupp or Metkalf