Cowboys glad they took flyer on backup QB Joe Milton, who’s a different style than what Dallas is used to – CBS Sports
Source: CBS Sports
FRISCO, Texas — For years, the Dallas Cowboys opted for a steady, veteran game manager as their backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott in Cooper Rush.
That worked for many years, and Rush found plenty of success in his spot starts filling in for Prescott when Dallas’ defense was a takeaway machine in the early 2020s, winning five of his six starts across 2021 and 2022. However, when asked to uplift a Cowboys offense that wasn’t being aided by an air-tight defense, that didn’t work as well. Dallas went 4-4 in Rush’s eight starts in 2024 with a lack of a downfield passing game: Rush averaged 6.9 air yards per pass attempt last season, 29th out of 36 qualified quarterbacks in 2024.
No longer is that the plan behind Prescott. Now, Dallas has a rocket-armed youngster behind Prescott in second-year quarterback Joe Milton, following an offseason trade with the New England Patriots in which the Cowboys sent a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for Milton and a 2025 seventh-round draft choice. He was a sixth-round pick in 2024 (193rd overall), falling late despite high-level athletic tools after playing in an offense with the Tennessee Volunteers that doesn’t ask much of its quarterbacks mentally. After spending his rookie year on the bench behind 2024 third overall pick Drake Maye in New England, he was unleashed for Week 18 against the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills. That’s where he flashed the mobility and arm talent that led to Dallas pulling the trigger on a trade to go get him.
Milton powered the Patriots to a 23-16 victory over the Bills that day by throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown on 22 of 29 passing in addition to a 1-yard rushing touchdown. This performance made him the only Patriots player since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger with both a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown in his NFL debut, according to CBS Sports Research.
“I went in there and did what the play caller and head coach wanted me to do, and that’s win the game,” Milton said Thursday after Dallas’ second organized team activities practice open to media. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. It was the last game of the season. I was just going off happy. I went out with a win in my first game ever in the NFL. That’s pretty much all I was thinking about, until two months later and boom, I’m here. After the Buffalo game, I was like, it’s fun. I feel like I can keep doing this. I feel like there is more that I need to let out. I was just having fun. It’s probably one of the best days of my life.”
His best play was far and away his 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. That play involved a sequence in which Milton rolled far to the right to evade Buffalo’s pass rush before he lasered a cross-body throw to Boutte, who became wide open after Milton scrambling cleared out the defensive backs covering his target. Plays like that have new Cowboys coach and offensive play caller Brian Schottenheimer “so excited” to develop Milton in Dallas’ quarterback room.
Play of the Day No. 13: New England Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton III connects with Kayshon Boutte for a 48-yard touchdown (Patriots vs. Bills, Week 18, 2024). #POTD pic.twitter.com/Mr22uTcOUe
“So excited about Joe. I was excited about Joe before we got him,” Schottenheimer said on May 20 after Dallas’ first practice of OTAs. “When you go into these deals and you’re talking about making trades, we all reach out to people that you know, people that you trust, people that have been exposed to said player at college, different programs, friends that have been around him. And you just dig and you ask and you get different opinions and there’s always an outlier good and bad. With each of them, you try to peel those away. But from the time he’s been here, the work ethic is incredible. He’s one of the first people in the building. He’s one of the last to leave. The way he’s attacked the playbook and picking it up has been incredible. And it’s been fun for me to watch Dak and Will [Grier], but really Dak take a mentorship role with Joe.”
The #DallasCowboys QBs walk off the practice field following OTAs today: Dak Prescott (4), Joe Milton (10) and Will Grier (15). pic.twitter.com/XTIi4fQtrt
Milton called coming to Dallas “a blessing” and called being able to learn from Prescott “great” as the Cowboys’ starter enters his 10th season as an NFL starting quarterback in 2025. How raw and developmental is Milton? Schottenheimer declined to get into specifics, but he did mention adjusting to an NFL playbook is an area where the 25-year-old is playing catch up.
“I think they all are [developmental],” Schottenheimer said of his quarterback room. “I think Dak is in the developmental phase. That sounds crazy for a guy who has played that much. There are things that we are tweaking with Dak. I don’t think it’s just for Joe. Joe is a guy, we obviously know about the talent, but the system that he came from in Tennessee, created some challenges in terms of what he has to learn and thi
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