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Joe Milton III #10 of the Dallas Cowboys
There’s nothing wrong with a little competition, of course, but if you’re Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Joe Milton, this is probably not quite what you had in mind. Last week during the first wave of NFL free agency, the Cowboys made one of their few offensive moves of this offseason, landing a new guy at a position–quarterback–at which they appeared to be pretty well set, with Dak Prescott starting and Milton set to back him up. But now, along comes Sam Howell.
The problem with Howell, from the point of view of Milton, at least, is that he has actually been a season-long starter in the NFL. Not a good one, mind you–Howell was 4-13 in 2023, and though he threw for 3,946 yards and led the league with 612 attempts, he also led the league with a whopping 21 interceptions (21 touchdowns) and 65 times sacked.
It wasn’t pretty, but for a fifth-round pick, Howell earned some experience and has at least secured enough of a reputation to be a decent backup QB option.
Cowboys Not Completely Confident in Joe Milton
Milton, meanwhile, has not started a game in the NFL and has played in only five games in his career. He has thrown 53 passes in the league, and only 24 came for the Cowboys in 2025. If Dak Prescott were to be injured, there is a real question about whether Dallas would truly be comfortable putting Milton on the field.
Howell, at least, has done it before.
According to Dallas Morning News Cowboys beat writer Calvin Watkins, that does put Milton’s status as QB2 in question. But Watkins did say it’s still Milton’s job, with some caveats.
“For now, it’s Joe Milton,” Watkins said in a Tuesday mailbag question about the QB2 role. “The signing of Sam Howell creates competition for Dak Prescott’s backup. Milton has tremendous upside, but Howell’s 17 starts are difficult to ignore. It’s clear Milton didn’t do enough last season to give the team confidence he can win a few games if Prescott goes down with injury.
“Howell didn’t play last year and has bounced around a little bit, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be relied on if he’s needed to start a game. It seems the Cowboys will go with at least three quarterbacks, and Howell could definitely challenge for the No. 2 gig. But Milton seems to be the favorite to retain the backup job because of his arm strength and the ability to use his legs to move the offense.”
GettyQuarterback Sam Howell signed with the Cowboys.
Keeping Dak Prescott Healthy Despite Pattern
Of course, it would not be a big deal at all as long as the Cowboys had Prescott on the field. There is no reason to think Prescott won’t be healthy, except for a worrisome pattern that emerged over the past six years of his career. Prescott has been perfectly fine and very productive in odd years. But he has been injured every other year, in even-numbered seasons.
Now, that’s probably superstition, but as the old saying goes, once is a chance, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern.
Prescott has played every game in 2021, 2023 and 2025. But he played five games in 2020 (broken ankle), 12 games in 2022 (fractured thumb) and seven games in 2024 (hamstring surgery). The Cowboys are hopeful that the pattern breaks in 2026, but it won’t hurt to have a quality backup on hand, just in case.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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