The NFL just made a loud statement of what they think of Joe Milton with his landing spot
The Cowboys got their QB3 back after the rest of the league made their choice.
The Dallas Cowboys raised a few eyebrows when they waived former Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton III on Monday, just a day after he was included on the team’s initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season.
Supremely talented physically, Milton has the tools of a potential lottery ticket — if (and it’s a monstrous if) someone can harness those skills and develop him properly at the position.
Every team in the NFL had their chance at deciding that Milton is worth buying that lottery ticket, as every team had the opportunity to put in a waiver claim for him this week. Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), no team did, meaning Milton was free to sign elsewhere.
It appears Milton got no active roster offers, and as such the Dallas Cowboys signed Milton to the practice squad on Thursday.
Joe Milton III went unclaimed on waivers, signs with Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad
In theory, it was a big risk for Dallas as far as taking the chance of losing someone who had been in a tight race for their QB2 spot with Sam Howell. Clearly, they were willing to take that chance, and it paid off handsomely for them. The Cowboys can use Milton as their emergency QB3 on game days without having to use a spot on their active roster. A big win-win for them.
But it does beg the question of what other teams in the league think of him. The Jets have Cade Klubnik as their QB2. The Falcons have a seemingly lost Tua Tagovailoa behind Michael Penix, Jr., who is recovering from a knee injury. The Browns are just a mess. None of these teams thought Milton could have been helpful?
Situations change, and teams later on have needs. So, we’ll see if that ups Milton’s value during the season if a team suddenly has an urgent need. But for now, the league has spoken on Milton, and that message was not a good one.
