The Dallas Cowboys are hoping to take a big step forward in 2025 following a disappointing season that saw them miss the playoffs despite having a theoretically strong roster.
One of the bigger moves over the last few months saw the Cowboys trade for quarterback Joe Milton from the New England Patriots. After taking a giant swing and miss on Trey Lance, finding a capable backup was important to the front office given Dak Prescott's injury history.
Milton is a promising young player and could capably step in for Prescott should disaster strike again, and now his former team just gave him serious ammo for the new campaign.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on trading Joe Milton III: "Well, we felt like that his reps were going to be decreased as we worked through the offseason. And we felt like just like every other decision, we're going to try to do what's best for the team, and that's the decision that we…
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) April 15, 2025
Cowboys QB Joe Milton's Former Team Gives Him Motivation for 2025 Season
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel shared why he felt comfortable moving on from Milton.
"We felt like his reps were gonna be decreased as we worked through the offseason," said Vrabel. "And we felt like, just like every other decision, we're gonna try to do what's best for the team, and that's the decision that we ultimately made. I'm excited to move forward with Drake and Josh [Dobbs]."
At its face, that answer doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Sure, Milton wasn't expected to be the starter, though Vrabel is seemingly indicating that he wouldn't have been the primary backup either. That seemingly indicates that he was referring to Milton's practice reps, and it's obvious that Vrabel prefers Josh Dobbs to the 2024 sixth-rounder.
In one start, Milton competed 22 of 29 passes (75.9%) for 241 yards and one TD with no turnovers, adding 16 yards and a score on the ground as well. His dual-threat ability should excite coaching staffs, and now Milton can use this disrespect as fuel to continue his development.
Prescott has missed time in three of the last five years. He'll be 32 years old before the season starts, so it's not improbable that Milton will need to step in at some point. If he does, hopefully he can prove Vrabel wrong.
This is an exciting player, and there's no real reason for Vrabel to have taken a shot at him on his way out.