We know that when the Cowboys offense first takes the field on Sunday in Week 18 against the Giants, Dak Prescott will be the team’s quarterback. From there, though, the team is not committing to keeping him on the field, not with a banged-up offensive line in front of him and a pair of rookie running backs with four total games of experience slated to be behind him. Getting Prescott through Game 18 healthy is a priority, and that means we’re likely to see Joe Milton on the field at some point.
Milton is the second-year quarterback the Cowboys brought in to take over backup duties from Cooper Rush this season, via a trade with the Patriots. He is known to have a cannon for an arm, though a lack of consistency and questions about his attention to detail caused him to drop the the sixth round in the 2024 NFL draft, and he’s only played limited snaps since.
As the NFL.com scouting report noted about Milton, he was limited because of, “a lack of timing, accuracy and touch … He was wildly inconsistent locating his deep throws.”
Joe Milton Has Made 3 Appearances for Cowboys
Milton played the bulk of the Patriots’ Week 18 game last season, and played well–he was 22-for-29 passing with 241 yards passing in a game in which the Patriots were surprise winners (and lost out on the No. 1 pick in the draft because of it).
Milton has come on in relief of Prescott in blowout losses three times this season. He has gone 8-for-11 passing as a Cowboys quarterback, throwing for 110 total yards. While his lack of accuracy held him back while he was at Tennessee, coach Brian Schottenheimer has seen a much more polished and accurate thrower this season.
“His arm talent, everyone wants to talk about the velocity and how far he can throw it, but you talk about a guy like Joe Milton, you talk about the accuracy, the ability to make all the throws, the off-platform throws—I mean he is just incredibly talented,” Schottenheimer said.
‘The Future Looks So Bright’ for Joe Milton
Of course, the problem for Milton in Dallas is the same one he had in New England–there’s an established starter ahead of him. It’s not likely that Milton will dislodge Prescott as Cowboys quarterback any time soon, not after a season in which Prescott leads the league in yardage at 4,482, and also leads in completions (397) and attempts (589).
Still, Schottenheimer said he sees a future for Milton with the Cowboys.
“We saw something in Joe that made us want to make the trade, and he has not disappointed,” Schottenheimer said. “I think he’s just, the future looks so bright for him, learning this system and doing the things he is being asked to do, from Michigan to Tennessee. It’s been cool for me to watch him pick up on some of the things. And it takes time. It really does. It’s not something that is built overnight. And again, we’re excited to have Joe be part of our football team.”
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