The Dallas Cowboys have not been shy about their intentions to address the need for a quarterback to back up Dak Prescott in 2025 and beyond.
With Cooper Rush headed to the Baltimore Ravens and a Trey Lance return unlikely to occur, signs point toward the NFL Draft as the likeliest avenue to get it done. Right now, Will Grier is the only other quarterback on the depth chart and he might not have as much upside as a rookie would.
However, it's impossible to rule out another offseason trade from the Cowboys as an alternative. Specially after ESPN's NFL insider Jeremy Fowler revealed on live TV they're a team to watch for when it comes to New England Patriots quarterback Joe Milton.
"Joe Milton is a very interesting name in this quarterback carousel we're talking about because he has trade interest," Fowler said on live TV. "The Patriots are exploring a trade and I'm told several teams are interested. One team to potentially watch for are the Dallas Cowboys because they are looking for a good backup, a young backup with upside, they may not get it in the draft, maybe they get it in a trade."
Milton was the Patriots' sixth-round draft pick in 2024 but never really got a chance to play. He made his season debut in Week 18 against the Buffalo Bills, when he completed 76% of his pass attempts for 241 yards and a touchdown. He added another touchdown through the ground.
"Joe Milton was brought in last season to serve as the emergency third quarterback, considering the team had Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett on the roster," A to Z Sports' New England Patriots writer Sophie Weller says. "He really impressed in the preseason and then showed showed his growth in that final game of the season.
"Well, many were upset the Patriots lost out on the number one overall pick. It was hard not to be impressed by Milton‘s efforts and his ability to move within the pocket. Many had concerns that he couldn’t be a developable quarterback coming out of the draft but he proved everyone wrong in year one and that’s why he’s considered a solid candidate for a trade so early on in his NFL career."
In a way, a trade for Milton would resemble the Cowboys' move for Trey Lance in 2024. Obviously, both quarterbacks have very different profiles. Lance was a No. 3 overall pick expected to be a starter in San Francisco. Milton was a late-round pick and an emergency QB for the Pats.
However, when the Cowboys traded for Lance, they did so in a year in which they targeted quarterbacks in the Draft and struck out, which helped spark the trade later in the year. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar happens this offseason.
It will be tricky for the Cowboys to land a quality backup quarterback in the middle rounds of the Draft because they have so many needs to tend to early on. In Day 3, finding someone worth betting on could prove to be a big challenge. In that case, could the Cowboys prefer to use a sixth or seventh round draft pick in someone like Milton, whose big positives as a draft prospect were all about physical traits like his arm strength and speed.
Who knows if such a trade would be successful but it does have Cowboys written all over it and sounds like a legit possibility later in the year.
