New Cowboys quarterback “blessed” to be with Dallas.
Joe Milton III has gone from backup to backup after a trade following his rookie season, but he’s nonetheless ecstatic to be with the Cowboys as he continues to forge his NFL career. A sixth-round pick of the Patriots in the 2024 draft, Milton was set to sit behind Drake Maye, selected at No. 3 overall during the same draft, for potentially the duration of his rookie contract. He instead made the most of his shot during a start in New England’s regular-season finale, flashing enough talent for Dallas to trade for the QB.
“Was I surprised? Yes,” Milton said of being moved, via the team website. “I kind of woke up around, like, 7 o’clock, to a call and I knew I was getting traded.” Surprise, notably, does not equal discontent. Milton’s feelings are quite the opposite in Big D, where he will be locked in competition with Will Grier for the backup quarterback job behind Dak Prescott.
“The only thing I could have done, well, the only thing I did at that moment was to thank God,” Milton said. “Coming here was a blessing. I didn’t know it was going to be here. … I didn’t know where I was going to end up. “I was just thankful to go to work. [But now I’m] back in the heat, for one. He allowed me to play in the dome, for two. And, three, it’s America’s team. Also, it’s just great to learn from someone like Dak.”
Although Maye quickly established himself as likely the real deal in New England, Milton comes to a situation in Dallas in which the starter blocking his way is even more entrenched.
Prescott is the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback by a wide margin, with his annual average of $60 million topping the three signal-callers tied for second behind him — Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Jordan Love — by $5 million per year. However, the Cowboys’ backup quarterback remains of vital importance given Prescott’s injury history.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old is coming off a season-ending injury in which his hamstring tendon partially tore off the bone. He’s fully healthy now and ready to make another go at ending Dallas’ title drought, but he’s missed 25 games over the past five seasons.
Milton is turning heads in Dallas.
For years, the Dallas Cowboys opted for a steady, veteran game manager as their backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott in Cooper Rush. No longer is that the plan behind Prescott. Now, Dallas has a rocket-armed youngster behind Prescott in second-year quarterback Joe Milton.
His OTA performance thus far, in the two practices open to media, have been mixed. He threw a couple of interceptions in 11-on-11 team drills on May 20. On Thursday, he was locked in with the second-team offense, the highlight being a connection with a Volunteers and current Cowboys teammate Princeton Fant. The tight end was able to take a throw over the middle from Milton to the house. Milton’s best play of OTAs thus far wasn’t seen by the media but detailed by Schottenheimer on Thursday. Milton pulled the trigger on new Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens’ most exciting play in Dallas thus far, a red zone touchdown catch.
“There was a play and it really wasn’t anything that George did, but we were in the red zone and we were in kind of a spread formation and we hit him for a touchdown. Joe [Milton] did on a little bender, a little skinny post, down in the low red zone. CeeDee [Lamb] was on the other side,” Schottenheimer said Thursday. “When CeeDee broke out, he looked back to see where the ball went, and he saw George in the end zone kind of drag his toes. CeeDee was like, ‘Yessss!’ I think his excitement for knowing that we’ve added some pieces which will add to the competition. It was cool to see a guy like CeeDee be excited.”
Plays like that are why the Cowboys feel like there’s plenty more untapped potential for Dallas’ coaching staff to dig into with Milton.
“The talent speaks for itself. You guys will see it today. He made some incredible throws yesterday,” Schottenheimer said on May 20. “He’s just an exciting young prospect that I think the sky’s the limit for.”
Micah Parsons skipped second week of Cowboys OTAs (as he should) – Mike Florio, PFT
If it’s headlines the Cowboys want, they sure are getting them.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer praised linebacker Micah Parsons for participating in the first week of the team’s annual OTA sessions. For the second week, Parsons wasn’t present.
Yes, the workouts are voluntary. And, no, Parsons shouldn’t volunteer to risk injury until he gets the long-term contract he should have gotten a year ago.
The Cowboys continue to misplay the situation. They drag their feet. And the price goes up. And the player is less prepared when it’s time to go play games that count.
It’s a ridiculous way of doing business. But the Cowboys keep repeating the pattern.
Mailbag: Why wait to re-sign players? – Dallascowboys.com
A reader asks what the philosophy is behind the front office waiting until the last minute to re-sign players. Patrik Walker and Nick Eatman each provide lengthy answers which we’ve shortened here for clarity.
Patrik: Beats me.
Nick: I’m not saying the Cowboys couldn’t have more urgency, but I think if the fans knew what the original contract offer is from the agent and player, they’d probably have a different opinion about how the negotiations are going.
Agent 0 pulling all the stops to get his number.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown revealed this week how he landed the coveted No. 0 jersey, crediting a key assist from an unexpected source: team owner Jerry Jones’ grandson, Paxton Anderson.
Overshown, speaking to reporters at the Cowboys’ facility, said he reached out to Anderson to help advocate for his jersey switch. “I called Paxton and told him I needed his help to push it over the edge,” Overshown said, smiling. “He made sure the right people heard about it.”
Jones’ grandson, Paxton Anderson, joined the Texas Longhorns as a Division I wide receiver in 2020 after a standout high school career at Highland Park and was teammates with DeMarvion Overshown during his time in Austin.
Many Dallas Cowboys fans believed that owner Jerry Jones and the team’s marketing department were holding the No. 0 jersey in reserve to avoid confusion with the double-zero “00” worn by mascot Rowdy in promotional materials and appearances. However, as Patrik Walker of dallascowboys.com reports, “that was never actually true.”
Now we’re talkin’. Prescott will have a new cadence this season.
“Yeaaahhhh… here we gooooo!”
For the last two years, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has made his snap cadence famous, shouting those four words prior to getting the snap. Game observers either loved it (mostly Cowboys fans) or hated it (most non-Cowboys fans). The good news for the haters is Prescott’s cadence is going away for the upcoming season.
New head coach Brian Schottenheimer delivered the surprising news during his press conference for the team’s second week of OTAs that the pre-snap chatter is gone. Prescott and the offense will now have a new cadence before starting each play. The phrase was made popular by Prescott during his MVP-caliber 2023 season, who explained it’s true meaning that year.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, fiancée Sarah Jane Ramos announce birth of second child – Staff, DMN
Congrats, Four!
Baby No. 2 has arrived for Dak Prescott and fiancée Sarah Jane Ramos.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback took to social media Saturday morning to reveal the news. According to Prescott, the couple’s second child was born May 22.
Prescott and Ramos named their newborn daughter Aurora Rayne.