Dallas Cowboys head coach confirms what was suspected about former Tennessee Vols QB Joe Milton
The former Tennessee Vols quarterback is in a tough spot this offseason.
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton is officially in a quarterback competition.
But it’s not the type of competition he saw for himself when he requested to be traded by the New England Patriots a year ago.
Milton wanted out of New England because he didn’t think he was getting a fair shot at the starting quarterback job.
“It was a part of my decision to make that happen,” said Milton of the trade that sent him from the Patriots to the Dallas Cowboys last offseason. “I went to my agency and told them that I wanted to leave — just because it was the best opportunity for me. I went through 16 games and I can count on my hand how many reps I got. So I feel like I didn’t get better. That was something that I kept asking my coaches there, like, ‘Why did I get drafted here?’ So I didn’t just want the feeling like I’m begging someone just for an opportunity. Not saying I had to beg them.”
“I just felt disrespected,” continued Milton. “Not because they drafted him (Maye) first, but I wasn’t playing, for one. For two, I wasn’t getting talked to. But three, [they] couldn’t tell me why I got drafted here. I wasn’t getting [any] reps. So every rep I took on scout team, I made sure the defense understood that. I don’t care what the play was — how I play in the game is how I practice…I’m running over y’all’s defense. I’m throwing the ball over your head. It got to the point at the Patriots, I’ll be honest, it got to the point where I threw a deep ball to my left over Gonzo (Christian Gonazalez), and while the ball was in the air, I turned around and just looked at (Jerod) Mayo. Eliot (Wolf) was right there, and they couldn’t do nothing but just look at the ball. The ball got completed. The scout team receiver scored, and they just shook their head. It got to that point…I mean, I just felt disrespected.”
Joe Milton will have to win the backup quarterback job in Dallas in 2026
Not only is Milton not going to get a chance to compete for the starting job in Dallas (Dak Prescott, of course, is locked in as the Cowboys’ starter), but he’s not even guaranteed to be the Cowboys’ No. 2 quarterback in 2026.
Dallas signed veteran quarterback Sam Howell earlier this month to a two-year deal.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed this week that Milton and Howell will compete for the backup quarterback job this offseason.
Milton is essentially in the same position this offseason that his former Tennessee teammate Hendon Hooker was in last summer with the Detroit Lions.
Hooker ended up losing the battle for the Lions’ No. 2 quarterback job to Kyle Allen, which led to the former Vol’s release.
We’ll see if Milton can avoid the same fate as Hooker.
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