There wasn’t a lot that went right for the New England Patriots in 2024 and it led them to a meaningless game against the Buffalo Bills in the regular-season finale. With Drake Maye injured, the Patriots turned to Joe Milton for the start and the sixth-round pick out of Tennessee was impressive, completing 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown in a 23-16 victory.
The win changed the trajectory of Milton’s career and it helped him become a trade commodity during the offseason. While Milton believed he should have an opportunity to be a starter, it was never going to come in New England, leading the Patriots to trade him to the Dallas Cowboys.
It turns out, Milton is happy in his new role in Dallas, even if he’s backing up a more established quarterback in Dak Prescott. And it gave him another opportunity to blast his former team on the way out.
Joe Milton Praises Cowboys For Everything the Patriots Aren’t
The Athletic’s Jon Machota wrote about Milton’s acclimation to the Cowboys offense during OTAs and highlighted what he likes about his new situation. The second-year quarterback called the move to Dallas “a blessing” and cited warm weather, playing home games indoors, playing for America’s team and learning behind Prescott as reasons he’s happy with his new team.
If you’re reading this as a New Englander, you may be able to pick up the pattern. Whether it’s intentional or not, Milton is happy to be with the Cowboys for everything the Patriots currently are not.
The Cowboys play in a warmer climate where the average temperature drops down to a low of 36 degrees in January while the Patriots and Foxborough drops to a low of 16 degrees. Dallas plays inside AT&T Stadium while New England plays in the open-air Gillette Stadium.
Prescott is the veteran mentor Milton didn’t have with the Patriots (excluding Jacoby Brissett) and you could maybe dispute the “America’s Team” claim due to the six Super Bowl titles the Patriots have won since the Cowboys last championship in 1996.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters last month that they traded Milton because they felt like his practice reps were going to be decreased as they worked through the offseason. Another report from Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal surfaced in May as he described Milton as “not a good dude.”
But Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised Milton for his work ethic and the 25-year-old compared his new offense to the one he ran at Tennessee.
“It’s way different,” Milton said. “This offense here brings me back more to my college days. My last offense was more everybody get tagged on which routes. This offense here is more fast and for sure explosive…I feel like we’re taking the right step in the right direction every day. We’re paying attention to small details.”
In the end, maybe both sides will get what they want. Maye can become a franchise quarterback for the Patriots while Milton can use his time in Dallas to find another opportunity to start. But the tea leaves since the move have been interesting and give the sense that Milton was never going to work in New England.