The Dallas Cowboys swung a trade to add a potential-packed young quarterback, Joe Milton, during the 2025 NFL offseason.
Dallas sent a 2025 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots to acquire Milton – who played sparingly as a rookie but flashed in a Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills – and a 2025 seventh-round pick. The Cowboys will look to develop the 25-year-old behind Dak Prescott, who is entering his age-32 season after missing half of the 2024 NFL season with a hamstring injury.
Milton admitted he wasn’t expecting to be traded after spending less than a year with the Patriots.
‘Was I surprised? Yes,’ Milton told the Cowboys website of the trade. ‘I kind of woke up around, like, 7 o’clock to a call and I knew I was getting traded.’
Still, Milton took the trade in stride and is grateful to have landed with the Cowboys.
‘The only thing I could have done, well, the only thing I did at that moment was to thank God,’ Milton described of being traded. ‘Coming here was a blessing. I didn’t know it was going to be here. … I didn’t know where I was going to end up.’
‘I was just thankful to go to work. [But now I’m] back in the heat, for one. He allowed me to play in the dome, for two. And, three, it’s America’s team. Also, it’s just great to learn from someone like Dak.’
Adding Milton was part of a greater restructuring of Dallas’ quarterback room. The Cowboys’ second- and third-string quarterbacks from last season, Cooper Rush and Trey Lance, are no longer with the team. Rush signed a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency while Lance signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Replacing Rush and Lance are Milton and veteran quarterback Will Grier, a 30-year-old who signed with the Cowboys for a second stint last season after Prescott’s injury. The two are expected to battle for the backup quarterback job, with Milton having the edge because of his athleticism and arm strength.
Milton is getting good vibes from his counterparts despite his competition with Grier. He is relishing an opportunity to learn from the duo as he tries to establish himself at the NFL level.
‘It’s great, man,’ Milton said of Dallas’ quarterback room. ‘We all have three different games, you know? Dak brings the most experience to the room and Will has been around football throughout his whole life. And then you’ve got me, whereas I didn’t grow up with a quarterback coach. I just happened to be so athletic, and I bring extra tools.
‘I learned along the way and I’m able to do certain things. So, putting it all together, we just shape one another as quarterbacks. It’s just great. We feed off of each other.
‘They help me out a lot, man. Shout out to those two, man. Like, respect for sure. No matter what it is, they’re willing to help, regardless.’