On Thursday, for the first time this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys held one of their OTAs at The Star and opened it up to the media, who got their first glimpses of the new Cowboys in uniform. There were no pads and teams are mostly working on installs at this point, but still, there are breadcrumbs and clues that can be interpreted from these practices.
One interesting tidbit that fell out was that the contours of what could be — though the Cowboys certainly hope not — an important summer fight to come once the team moves to Oxnard for training camp next month: the backup quarterback battle. The Cowboys made clear back in March that they’re not exactly satisfied with the state of the depth chart behind star Dak Prescott by signing veteran Sam Howell, who was a full-season starter for Washington in 2023.
That put the incumbent backup, Joe Milton, on notice. Milton was acquired by trade a year ago from the Patriots, and is known to have one of the strongest arms in the league, but lacks consistency and fine touch and has never started an NFL game.
Joe Milton With 2nd Team, Sam Howell With 3rd
On Thursday, for the OTA that the media was allowed to see, at least, it was Milton getting second-team reps behind Prescott. That brings credence to the notion that the Cowboys want Milton to keep the job but want Howell to put pressure on him. There’s still a long way to go in the competition, as Milton and Howell figure to get most of the snaps in the preseason, but it’s clear this is Milton’s job to lose.
From ESPN’s Cowboys beat writer Todd Archer on Twitter/X: “Joe Milton took the No. 2 QB reps and had a TD pass on a wheel route to Malik Davis. Sam Howell closed his work with a TD pass along the back line to Jordan Hudson.”
Cowboys See Joe Milton as ‘Incredibly Talented’
Milton’s experience level is the big concern. He came on in relief of Prescott in blowout losses three times this season. He has gone 15-for-24 passing as a Cowboys quarterback, throwing for 183 total yards. Milton played the bulk of the Patriots’ Week 18 game in 2024, and played well–he was 22-for-29 passing with 241 yards passing in a game in which the Patriots were surprise winners.
While his lack of accuracy has long been an issue, coach Brian Schottenheimer saw improvements last year.
“His arm talent, everyone wants to talk about the velocity and how far he can throw it, but you talk about a guy like Joe Milton, you talk about the accuracy, the ability to make all the throws, the off-platform throws—I mean he is just incredibly talented,” Schottenheimer said after the season.
Cowboys Projected to Cut Sam Howell
Though the Cowboys only signed Howell on a $2.5 million contract, all guaranteed, back in March, the fact that the Cowboys gave up a draft pick for Milton means they’d be hard-pressed to dump him.
So, there will be a competition, and perhaps Howell can win the job. But Jon Machota of The Athletic, predicted last month that the Cowboys would keep just one backup QB, and that Milton stays.
He wrote: “Dallas has three veteran quarterbacks who could each make the roster, but it seems difficult to keep that many. Joe Milton and Sam Howell will battle for the backup job throughout training camp and the preseason. Either one could win the job. Howell has the experience, having started 18 NFL games, but Milton has the higher upside. It’s hard to believe that the Cowboys would part ways with Milton after trading a fifth-round pick for him a year ago.”
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