Joe Milton, a former Patriots backup quarterback cast-off by New England after playing in only one game in his rookie season, will finally make his first NFL start Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles bench Tanner McKee, according to a report Wednesday by ESPN‘s Adam Schefter and Mike Garafolo.
The decision arrives with Philadelphia at 2-6 after six straight losses, and Milton with five career NFL appearances with no starts on his resume.
Eagles starting QB Jalen Hurts is out for the season with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, a diagnosis that began as a superficial calf clot discovered in London. He played against the Jaguars before the more serious findings emerged.
McKee, the interim starter, went 0-3 in his place, and the Eagles had signed Milton off the Cowboys’ practice squad on Oct. 16 for quarterback depth.
Milton was born March 6, 2000, in Pahokee, Florida, and played high school football at Olympia High in Orlando. He stands 6-foot-5, weighs about 236 pounds and ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash. He is also a cousin of former NFL receiver Anquan Boldin.
Milton spent 2018 through 2020 at Michigan, starting five games in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and winning two. He then transferred to Tennessee, where he became the full-time starter in 2023, finishing 8-4 with 20 touchdown passes and five interceptions.
New England Patriots’ Joe Milton Draft Pick and Trade
The New England Patriots selected Milton in the sixth round, 193rd overall, in the 2024 draft, using a pick that came from the Mac Jones trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His size, arm strength and mobility made him a developmental project, though accuracy and processing questions followed him out of Tennessee’s spread offense.
He sat third on the depth chart behind Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett for most of his rookie year. His one extended showing came in Week 18, when he went 22 of 29 for 241 yards with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and no interceptions in a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills. His passer rating that day was 111.4.
New England dealt him on April 3, 2025. The Patriots sent Milton and a seventh-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth-rounder. Maye had locked down the starting job, and New England had signed Josh Dobbs as the primary backup, which left Milton without a clear path to playing time. He later called the move out of New England a “blessing.”
Joe Milton’s Cowboys Release and Eagles Start
Milton served as Dak Prescott’s backup in 2025 and went 15 of 24 for 183 yards over four games, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Dallas then added Sam Howell, and the two split the work in a competition for the No. 2 job heading into this season.
Milton put up strong preseason numbers, completing 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Howell still won the job.
“Very, very hard decision,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. He credited Howell’s execution, command of the system, field vision and speed through progressions, and Howell’s prior starting experience also factored in.
Dallas waived Milton on Aug. 31 to open a roster spot for running back Emari Demercado. He cleared waivers and returned to the practice squad.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for Joe,” Schottenheimer said after the Eagles poached Milton from the practice squad.
Milton now becomes the fourth Eagles quarterback to throw a pass this season, after Hurts, Andy Dalton and McKee. Sunday against the New York Giants is the first start of a career that began with a sixth-round draft slot and a spot at the bottom of a depth chart.
Patriots Castoff QB Joe Milton III Gets Big Break From Latest Team