Last Thursday, the New England Patriots traded an asset with sneaky long-term value over to the Dallas Cowboys for peanuts.
Milton was packaged with a 2025 seventh-round pick for a 2025 fifth-round pick.
The 25-year-old out of Tennessee played one game in his rookie season last year. He scored a passing and rushing touchdown while showcasing raw arm power and athleticism in a Week 18 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
But Drake Maye, who proved to be a promising long-term option under center in his rookie season, owns the No. 1 role in New England — and that wasn’t going to change under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
According to reports from MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian, Milton, who was a sixth-round pick in 2024, perceived himself as the No. 1 option in New England and didn’t think he was getting a fair shake to compete with Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, for the job.
Since that was the reality, Milton preferred to play elsewhere — and now that means competing with veteran Dak Prescott. Milton is expected to be the backup, but he said it was always a “dream” to play for Dallas.
Vrabel has spoke out about wanting players who want to be in New England, and since Milton made it clear he didn’t fancy sticking around, the Patriots made the best offer they could ahead of his influence potentially impacting other players when they arrived for the Patriots offseason program on Monday.
Guregian reported that personnel around the league said the Patriots would have been better off waiting to trade Milton at later stages of the offseason.
“One AFC executive told MassLive he didn’t think Milton would net much at this juncture in a trade,” Guregian writes. “And that notion proved correct. The executive thought it might be prudent for the Patriots to wait until after the draft, when the dust settled on all of the quarterbacks taken.
“Or even later on during training camp and the preseason when injuries occur, with teams becoming more desperate for quarterback help.”
