After the preseason Joe Milton and Sam Howell just had, I figured the Cowboys would keep three quarterbacks. Both played great, and Dallas spent a fifth-round draft pick last season on Milton.
I don’t think either of these guys looked like players you just toss away because you only “need” two quarterbacks on the 53.
Well, then, Monday happened. Dallas waived Joe Milton to make room for Emari Demercado, and that one I didn’t see coming. I can understand how Sam Howell won QB2, but the piece I don’t fully understand is everything Dallas did before putting Milton on waivers.
Joe Milton Started Playing Like a Quarterback
This time last year, during the preseason, Joe Milton looked raw. The tools have always been obvious, but you could almost see the gears turning in his head as he thought through things, and most of the time it looked like he wanted to throw the ball through someone’s chest.
This preseason didn’t look like that.
Joe Milton went 29-of-43 for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 67.4 % of his passes. Compared to last preseason’s 55.4%, I would say that is some major improvement.
Brian Schottenheimer even talked about Joe Milton learning when to take some off the football instead of firing everything 100 mph. For a guy with his kind of arm, that could be the actual speed.
On top of that, Milton said he knew the entire playbook this year after estimating he only knew about 75 to 85% of it last season and you could see the difference.
This is a player who looked more comfortable, less frantic, and I didn’t feel like he was trying to make every play a Sports Center Top-10 moment. Hopefully you all remember those.
Against Arizona, he went 9-of -13 for 179 yards, two touchdowns, and added another score on the ground. Through the first two games alone, he had 286 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Those are the reasons I thought he would be safe.
Sam Howell Won QB2, I can Live With That
The biggest difference between these two this preseason is Sam Howell’s past. Howell has started 18 NFL games and is the same age as Joe Milton. Dallas clearly trusts Howell’s experience more right now. I can’t argue with that decision from a football standpoint.
What I don’t believe is that Dallas watched Joe Milton improve all summer and suddenly decided, nah, we’re done here.
The Cowboys traded for him because they thought there was something worth developing, and then he developed. Apparently not enough to beat out Sam Howell, but enough that I would want to lose him.
But wait a second, step back, take a breath, and look at the timing.
Dallas could have waived Joe Milton with the first round of cuts, but they didn’t. The Cowboys kept him on the initial 53 and waited until teams had already made most of their cuts, filled out their quarterback rooms and started building practice squads.
Coincidence? Maybe, but I don’t buy it.
Dallas Is Betting No One Else Wants Him
I’m not a gambling man and this feels like a major gamble because Dallas has no control over what happens next. Another team can claim Joe Milton. I wouldn’t blame a team for doing it.
He’s athletic, the arm is ridiculous, and now there’s fresh tape showing he may be getting better at the parts of his game that make him a better quarterback.
If a team claims him, Dallas used draft capital to get him, spent a year developing him, and then watched him walk as he finally started showing progress.
That will be hard to defend.
I don’t think Dallas gave up on Joe Milton. I think the Cowboys front office waited until the rest of the league had settled their quarterback rooms and decided this was their best chance to sneak him through.
Now they just need 31 other teams to leave him alone.
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