On Sunday, it looked like the Dallas Cowboys had done the reasonable thing by deciding to keep three quarterbacks on the roster. Dak Prescott is obviously the starter, and both Joe Milton and Sam Howell had made credible cases during the preseason to be his backup. Milton had been especially splashy in the first two games of the summer slate, and against Arizona, Milton went 9-for-13 on his passes for 179 yards. He threw for two touchdowns, including a beautiful 53-yard fade to Jonathan Mingo, and ran for a score.
When it was over, Milton had posted a 151.4 quarterback rating, and many assumed he’d just won the QB2 job. But Howell was good in the Cowboys’ game against the Saints last week, and with a full season of starting under his belt back when he was with the Commanders, Howell showed he was not out of the backup competition just yet.
Then came Monday.
Cowboys Had Praised Joe Milton All Offseason
The news that the Cowboys were cutting Milton was shocker, given the preseason that he had and the praise he had gotten from Dallas team officials. VP of personnel had said that the signing of Howell back in March had an impact on how Milton worked this offseason: “It pissed him off,” McClay told DLLS Cowboys.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer noted that Milton has always had exceptional arm strength but had become better at the intricacies of quarterback play.
He said last week: “Arm strength is cool. Go to the fair and win a teddy bear. But you got to play quarterback. And that’s what I think you see Joe learning is he’s playing quarterback. And he’s playing quarterback at a high level. He’s checking the ball down. He’s making blitz adjustments. He’s solving problems. He’s reading from his first, second to third, and even fourth progression at times.
“It takes time. You don’t stop learning as a quarterback. The only way to do it is to play. I’m really, really proud of him.”
Cowboys Sought a Trade
That praise and the subsequent axing of Milton led to plenty of questions around The Star and Cowboys observers. There was a rumor that Milton asked for his release, which was shot down by ESPN’s Todd Archer. And Archer reported that, “the Cowboys did have some trade conversations regarding Milton before the cut down to the 53-man roster on Sunday.”
He also said it is possible Milton will come back to the Cowboys on the practice squad, though there is sure to be interest in him around the NFL.
Joe Milton ‘Focus’ in Question
So, what did happen to make the Cowboys go from “proud” of Milton to knocking him off the 53-man roster?
Bobby Belt, Cowboys insider for 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, said the details were hazy said the blame should fall on Milton.
“I did not get clarity from a lot of people yesterday,” Belt said on Tuesday, “but one of the things I heard back was that he was focused on the wrong things. Which, I know that is very broad, and it sounds like they didn’t think he was totally locked in to doing the things he needed to do to get better. Which, he has been talked about before as, like, a fun-loving guy, he likes to do his backflips, and he is very chatty. But I thought it looked like he had to have put in work this offseason. …
“So, they’re not playing. The Schottenheimer staff is not playing about people who don’t do the things they want Monday through Saturday.”
Again, it is not exactly clear what that means–was Milton not serious enough this summer? Did he lose the QB2 job and react poorly to the decision? Is he just coming back to the practice squad? Still more to be answered there.
Cowboys’ Reasons for Shocking Cut of QB Starting to Leak Out