Cowboys’ Joe Milton makes his feelings known on Dak Prescott taking charge during training camp

The newest quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of mentoring he’s received from the team’s veteran starter. Joe Milton was traded to “America’s Team” in April by the New England Patriots along with a seventh-round draft pick in 2025, with the Pats receiving a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft in return.

The former Tennessee Volunteers and Michigan Wolverines quarterback spoke to The Athletic’s John Machota on Friday, and one of the topics was Cowboys starting QB Dak Prescott:

“Dak is a great leader," Milton said. "All respect to him. He literally goes out of his way to help me. I’ve been in another building. I know how that goes. It’s just very different over here."

Joe Milton will be competing with Will Grier to back up Prescott, with the former featuring in just one career NFL game thus far. Grier has only played in two games himself, and with both being in Carolina, he has seen no regular-season playing time at the Cowboys.

Prescott, a three-time Pro Bowler, is entering his 10th NFL season after missing a significant portion of 2024 with a right hamstring strain. He led the league in completions in 2023 (410) and is among the unquestioned leaders on the Cowboys roster.

The only appearance that Milton made for New England came in their regular season finale versus the Buffalo Bills on January 5; he replaced Drake Maye, who departed the game after the opening drive. Milton was impressive in that game, albeit a meaningless fixture, going 22 of 29 for 241 yards and a pair of touchdowns, helping the Pats earn a 16-13 victory.

Joe Milton is the cousin of former three-time NFL Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin, who was the 2003 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and helped the Baltimore Ravens capture a Super Bowl in 2013.

In his final season in college, Milton went 8-4 with Tennessee, throwing a career high for passing yards (2,769) and touchdowns (20).

Cowboys backup Joe Milton throws subtle shade at his former team

While Joe Milton is unlikely to see a lot of playing time in Dallas next season, it seems like he’s a lot happier with being a potential backup for the Cowboys than he was in Greater Boston.

He and Drake Maye were rookies with the Pats last season, with the latter being taken at No. 3 in the draft, while Milton wasn’t off the board until round six.

Speaking to The Athletic, Milton seemed to throw a little shade at New England with his comments about Dak Prescott. As above, he said:

“I’ve been in another building. I know how that goes. It’s just very different over here."

It seems Milton wasn’t happy in New England, with the 25-year-old telling KRGV on Thursday that he made the call to leave the Pats.

“That was something me and my team put together, they were able to get it done… shoutout to my agent. So that’s pretty much it.”

Milton will get his first opportunity to prove he’s worthy of being Prescott’s backup in Dallas on August 9 when they take on the Los Angeles Rams in their preseason opener.