The Cowboys have agreed to a surprise trade for Patriots quarterback Joe Milton, according to multiple reports.
Milton, 25, was a standout player in college for Tennessee and impressed in limited action for the Patriots during his rookie season.
Now, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he’s headed to Dallas along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fifth-rounder.
The move for Milton comes after a shocking claim that the Browns and Cowboys were negotiating a trade for Dallas’ longtime quarterback Dak Prescott. Separately, longtime Dallas backup Cooper Rush signed with the Ravens last month.
Cleveland-based sportscaster Bruce Drennan claimed he’d received a tip from a ‘pretty darn good source within the Browns organization’ that the two teams were allegedly in talks over the quarterback.
‘I heard that the part of the reason Myles Garrett was so willing to sign this contract extension, the Browns are negotiating as we speak with the Dallas Cowboys for a trade for Dak Prescott,’ Drennan claimed on his BIGPLAY show.
Joe Milton – along with a seventh-round pick – is heading to the Dallas Cowboys in a trade
Quarterback Dak Prescott played just eight games for the Cowboys in 2024 due to injury
Milton scored a rushing touchdown against the Bills in the final week of the regular season
‘Now, Prescott is recovering from a hamstring injury as we speak and he may not be ready for the start of training camp but this comes from a couple of different sources.’
Drennan added that Cleveland would send cornerback Greg Newsome II and draft compensation to Dallas in exchange for Prescott.
Milton was New England’s backup behind Drake Maye last season, but impressed when given a chance in Week 18, throwing for 241 yards and scoring two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) in a win.
Of course, the quarterback does not have the same pedigree as three-time Pro Bowler Prescott, but he’s also much cheaper, as he signed a rookie deal worth $4.2million over four years after being drafted in the sixth round.
Prescott, meanwhile, signed four-year, $240million extension with Dallas in September, with nearly all of it ($231million) guaranteed, per Spotrac.
Still, the team could be looking to move on from Prescott, who is second all-time in franchise touchdown passes but has just a 2-5 record in the playoffs.
After having a great 2023 season, Prescott endured a difficult 2024 as he tossed eight interceptions to just 11 touchdowns and had his season cut short by a hamstring tear.
Prescott has been mostly durable for the Cowboys, though a fractured thumb in 2022 cost him five games and a gruesome ankle injury limited him to just five games in 2020.
