The Dallas Cowboys may have parted with quite a bit of draft capital in the offseason as part of their quarterback room revitalization, which helped them land cannon-armed former New England Patriots backup Joe Milton, but Brian Schottenheimer doesn't seem ready to simply hand him the QB2 gig.
Schottenheimer is trying to keep a competition between him and well-traveled veteran Will Grier going. Milton has a chance to prove once and for all that he is the starter by playing well in a preseason duel against the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, Schottenheimer is trying his best to get all the Milton supporters in the fanbase irritated.
“We don’t have to decide that today," Schottenheimer said. "I need to get to learn him as the play-caller... I’m not going to say who the backup running back is right now, who the backup quarterback is right now, because I don’t have to make those decisions yet... Our plan all along has been that we need to find out about Joe Milton.”
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer has not named Joe Milton backup QB
Milton has one of the strongest arms in the NFL, though his college career at both Michigan and Tennessee left many wondering why he never made the stardom leap many expected. His accuracy comes and goes, and he doesn't always get the ball out quickly.
While Milton put together a fantastic game in his only extended Patriots action during a win against the Buffalo Bills, that isolated performance came against a team that was resting many of their best players as they prepared for a postseason run. Matt Flynn also threw six touchdowns in a scenario like this.
Even with those concerns, it would be incredibly frightening if Milton is unable ot beat out Grier, who has bounced around various teams since 2019 despite never throwing a professional touchdown pass. Milton's preseason debut looked similar to that of Trey Lance in that highlight-reel moments were weighed down by bad misses.
Schottenheimer is likely going to name Milton the backup quarterback anyway, but it's still concerning to see that he hasn't pulled away as dominantly as someone with his physical talents should. Baltimore will be a telling test for Milton.