The first plot twist of the Dallas Cowboys preseason is here. About 90 minutes before kickoff against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, a shocking development emerged at the quarterback position: Joe Milton will not start the preseason opener. Sam Howell will.

Jon Machota of The Athletic broke the news on social media when he wrote: “Sam Howell is expected to start and play the entire first half tonight for the Cowboys. Joe Milton is expected to play the entire second half.”

A significant surprise

That is a significant surprise because Milton, for the most part, appeared to be getting the second-team reps with Dallas throughout camp. Milton was even listed as the QB2 on the first unofficial depth chart.

To be fair, the split seemed even, and coach Brian Schottenheimer made it clear the Cowboys were holding an open competition at the position. You could read this a lot of different ways. You could read it as the Cowboys saying they already know what they have in Milton after watching him play in last year’s preseason, so they’ll give Howell the go-ahead with the second team first.

However, it still feels like a significant development. This is the first major sign of the Cowboys shaking things up at quarterback, and it’s evidence that Milton has not done as much as they hoped when they traded a sixth-round pick for him last year.

That became apparent the moment Dallas brought in Howell. The Cowboys immediately made it clear he was competing for the backup job behind Dak Prescott.

What to watch for in Cowboys preseason opener

Neither quarterback did enough during the offseason program or training camp to separate from the other. With three preseason games on the schedule, a decision will have to come soon. And contrary to previous years, this may not be a decision about who has the most upside. It is likely a decision about who gives the Cowboys a better chance to win a single game should Prescott go down with an injury, because this team is making it clear it sees itself as a contender in the 2026 NFL season.

That is why Jerry Jones and company are talking about making a trade or a free agency acquisition to improve the roster. Jones said he would be willing to give up premium draft picks in the future to improve this year’s team, because that is how strongly he feels about this football team.

In that sense, Howell might have the advantage. He has a full season of starting experience under his belt, having started 17 games back in 2023, as I pointed out in my preseason preview with notes about each of the 91 Cowboys players. It wasn’t perfect. He was one of the NFL’s leaders in big-time throw percentage, ranking in the top 10 in that category per Pro Football Focus. However, he also led the league in turnover-worthy plays.

So here’s how I would sum it up. For Howell, you’re looking for the gunslinger he likes to be while taking care of the football. For Milton, it’s all about accuracy, because that’s where he’s been struggling since his days with the Tennessee Volunteers.

We’ll see how it all goes. But for now, Howell gets the first half of the Cowboys’ preseason opener against Seattle. Until we get more context on the decision, that makes him the apparent front-runner in the Cowboys’ QB2 battle, which was unexpected going into Saturday night.

Let’s see how they do tonight.