There was some fallout around the league following the surprising decision by the Dallas Cowboys to execute a Monday afternoon cut of quarterback Joe Milton, the third-year man who had starred in the preseason and appeared a strong candidate to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Dak Prescott throughout the summer. Certainly, the timing of the Cowboys’ decision is worthy of some question–the team waited until other teams had done their quarterback shuffling on Sunday to cut Milton, boosting his chances of getting through waivers unclaimed. He did go unclaimed, and the Cowboys could bring him back to the practice squad in the coming days.
That would be a fair criticism of how the Cowboys handled the situation. Still, it’s possible that teams around the league did not think that highly of Milton, even after a preseason in which he completed 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions or sacks taken. Milton would now have his choice of practice squads to join, and if he does not decide to come back to Dallas, that will indicate he’s not happy with how things unfolded this summer.
Cowboys ‘Protect’ Dak Prescott With Joe Milton Cut?
Ah, but across the league, there were more sinister Cowboys motivations that were cited for the Milton release–even by former NFL players. The notion is that the Cowboys did not want to keep Milton because he could be a threat to Dak Prescott.
On the “Deebo and Joe” podcast with Joe Haden and James Harrison, the former NFL star hosts were dumbfounded by the Milton cut, and their Twitter/X post caption read: “The Cowboys cut Joe Milton III after having a phenomenal preseason. Was this move by Jerry to protect Dak?”
Cowboys Did Not Want ‘Whispers,” Ochicinco Says
And it was more of a direct shot from former NFL star Chad Ochocinco, who noted that the cutting of Milton was “dirty business” and was done, he speculated, because he thought the Cowboys did not want there to be chatter about starting Milton if the team struggles this season.
Here was Ochocinco’s take: “With the way he did play, I don’t want him as the No. 2 because, in case things are not going well, you know what everybody’s going to be saying. That’s another factor that’s happened in the past. To get rid of that pressure, we’re gonna do this. Is Sam Howell going to push Dak Prescott? No, there’s no pressure there, I ain’t got to look over my shoulder. He ain’t starting over me.
“The first thing that went into my head, you know what, we can’t have a quarterback on the roster, the active roster, that played that well and if things don’t go well, the first thing, the whispers are, oh, they need to put so-and-so in and see how he can do. … Just the fact that they chose Sam Howell over Joe Milton despite how Joe Milton played, that means the business—the business is a dirty business, man.”
Dak Prescott Not Worrying About Joe Milton
Now, those in and around the star would likely never even conceded that as a possibility when it comes to the Cowboys thinking. They’re going to get players into the building if they think they can help, and the team has never been afraid to undercut Prescott in the past–that was the point of the Trey Lance trade in 2023, after all.
Veteran Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill saw it as a continuing lack of respect around the NFL for Prescott.
As he wrote on Twitter/X: “This is another example of the continued lack of respect for Dak Prescott and his play. It’s ridiculous at this point. 10 years in, rookie of the year, man of year, four pro bowls, mvp runner up, owner of almost all of the Cowboys passing records, 2nd highest paid qb in nfl history and yet he has deal with from pundits, opps and his own fans. He is looking over his shoulder at Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and the pressure to win in playoffs, not Joe Milton.”
Cowboys Move Tabbed ‘Dirty Business’ to Protect Dak Prescott From ‘Whispers’: Ex-NFL Star