The Dallas Cowboys picked up a developmental quarterback by acquiring Joe Milton III via trade from the New England Patriots. This caused a Super Bowl winner turned analyst to inexplicably put Dak Prescott on notice in the transaction's immediate aftermath.
The Cowboys won't be expecting Milton to do anything other than learn behind the scenes in a backup role. He's still incredibly raw with one year of NFL experience. The former sixth-round pick has a rocket arm and decent mobility, but that's not enough. What's important for Dallas' coaching staff is improving areas such as pocket footwork, decision-making, and processing to give him a fighting chance.
Prescott won't be feeling threatened. Not yet, anyway.
He's the undisputed starter and the team's biggest earner by a considerable margin. Last season ended abruptly through injury, so the pressure is on to produce this time around as the Cowboys look to keep pace with the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles.
Milton is the unknown quantity. He could get some reps in specific packages that maximize his physical attributes, but seeing the field aside from that is highly unlikely unless Prescott succumbs to injury once again.
LeSean McCoy puts Dak Prescott on the hot seat after Cowboys' Joe Milton trade
That wasn't an opinion shared by LeSean McCoy. The former running back, who's now an analyst on FOX Sports' The Facility, threw down the gauntlet to Prescott by stating that if his production isn't top-notch, Milton is more than capable of replacing him.
"Listen, if Dak Prescott has the postseason he's always had next year. Dak, find a realtor because Joe Milton got talent. He can play. And I'll say this, y'all laugh and all that, but I've seen a lot of quarterbacks get a lot of money and they move on from them."LeSean McCoy
“Dak Prescott, find a realtor. Because Joe Milton can play.”@CutOnDime25 reacts to the Cowboys trading a 5th-round pick for QB Joe Milton pic.twitter.com/YFuycUw7Wz
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) April 3, 2025
This was certainly a statement. There wasn't much merit behind it, but we live in a hot-take world.
Milton is nowhere near ready to legitimately compete with Prescott for the starting job. The Cowboys made a huge financial commitment to the incumbent starter. It might not have brought another elusive Super Bowl to Dallas as yet, but Jerry Jones is not ready to throw in the towel on his signal-caller just yet.
Far from it.
This provides the Cowboys with an intriguing backup they can potentially mold into something more over time. It's not the strongest quarterback class, so Dallas picked up someone taken on Day 3 last year with a season in the pros under his belt rather than taking a chance on an unheralded rookie.
The move isn't to turn up the heat on Prescott. Anyone who says otherwise is simply pushing their narrative and trying to make asinine headlines with no genuine substance attached.
If anything, Prescott's firm job security will enable him to feel comfortable about mentoring Milton during his important transition to a different environment. That's only going to help the Tennessee graduate pick up some useful tricks of the trade in Year 2 of his professional career.
This is not a quarterback battle of any kind, regardless of how much potential Milton does or doesn't have.
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