Cowboys make intriguing trade for Joe Milton III, paying little to get him from Patriots
The Dallas Cowboys overpaid for Jonathan Mingo in a trade last year. Before that, they overpaid for Trey Lance.
The Cowboys did not overpay for Joe Milton III. Far from it.
There's a chance we could look back at Thursday's trade as an important moment for the Cowboys, and how often can you say that about acquiring a player one year removed from being a sixth-round draft pick? The Cowboys traded for Milton, the New England Patriots' backup quarterback, giving up only a fifth-round pick while getting back Milton and also a seventh-round pick.
Milton got on everyone's radar with his ridiculous arm talent and some eye-popping plays last preseason, and an exciting Week 18 performance to end his rookie season. The Patriots have a quarterback, Drake Maye, so Milton was on the trade block. Milton is still very raw and might never develop into an NFL starter. But the physical talent is obvious. At least Maye doesn't have to worry about Milton being a threat, and the Patriots don't have to hear about a quarterback controversy, neither of which is a good enough reason to give away a unique young talent.
If Milton never plays a down for the Cowboys, it's not like they gave up much to gamble on Milton's ability.
The Patriots, who know something about making great sixth-round picks, should have been ecstatic about what they saw from Milton after picking him in the sixth round.
Milton was an exciting prospect out of Tennessee, but raw enough that he fell in the draft. The Patriots took him and he made some intriguing plays in the preseason. When the Patriots gave him most of a Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills, Milton went 22-of-29 for 241 yards and a touchdown in a Patriots win. That came against Bills backups as they rested for the playoffs, but the promise Milton showed in the final game of his rookie season was notable.
And the Patriots gave that up for a late-round draft-pick swap. It's surprising the Patriots didn't get more, or just wait longer on a player who was one year into a four-year, $4.2 million rookie deal. New England signed Joshua Dobbs, who will be their steady veteran backup who won't threaten Maye, but the avoidance of any fan- or media-fueled quarterback controversy with Milton probably wasn't worth giving him away for barely more return than what New England invested in the first place (and probably even less of a return when you factor in the seventh-round pick also going to Dallas).
It's hard to see this being a bad deal for the Cowboys, regardless of how Milton develops.
Cowboys bring in a new backup QBThe Cowboys are inviting the quarterback controversy the Patriots no longer have to worry about. If Dak Prescott struggles there will be those who want to see Milton, especially if he plays well in the preseason. It's inevitable, even if it will be misguided.
That seems like a small downside to a trade that has some impactful upside.
If Milton doesn't work out for the Cowboys, moving back from the fifth round to the seventh is very, very unlikely to haunt Dallas. The difference in that move up isn't nothing, but it's not going to change a franchise. If Milton can continue to develop and adjust to the NFL, and if what we saw in the Bills game can be carried over as he matures, that can impact a franchise. The odds aren't great that Milton becomes a top-end quarterback, but the Cowboys aren't paying much to find out.
The Cowboys come away with an interesting young quarterback prospect while giving up relatively nothing for him, including a contract that doesn't have a salary cap hit of more than $1.24 million in any of the next three years. Dallas invites criticism with a lot of its moves, but it's hard to find fault with this one.