Why Cowboys QB Joe Milton III 'felt disrespected' during time with Patriots

Shortly after the New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach last offseason, they surprisingly traded quarterback Joe Milton III and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Dallas Cowboys in return for a 2025 fifth-round choice.

A 2024 sixth-round selection, Milton spent the bulk of his rookie season buried on the New England depth chart beneath Week 1 starter Jacoby Brissett and eventual QB1 Drake Maye. During a Tuesday appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Milton opened up about his time with the Patriots. 

Joe Milton III wishes he had gotten more of a chance with Patriots

"When you move Drake up to start, what should Jacoby now do? You keep him at the two because he’s a vet, but he’s not taking reps," Milton said about Maye becoming New England's starter in Week 6 of the 2024 season, per Lauren Campbell of MassLive. "It’s just me and Drake, the only ones practicing, but [Brissett was] still the two. I just felt disrespected."

Milton received an opportunity to impress with the 2024 Patriots when he completed 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards with a touchdown in a Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. He also rushed for a score in that contest. 

Nevertheless, he acknowledged on Tuesday that he "felt like [he] didn’t get better" before he informed his agency last offseason he wanted to receive a fresh start elsewhere. According to Milton, he showed the Patriots what he was capable of doing on the practice field. 

Joe Milton III left Patriots people shaking their heads on the practice field?

"How I play in the game is how I practice," Milton added during the interview. "...I’m running over y’ all defense. I’m throwing the ball over your head. I got to the point at the Patriots, I’ll be honest, I got to the point where I threw a deep ball to my left over (cornerback Christian Gonzalez). And while the ball was in the air, I turned around, just looking at (former head coach Jerod Mayo), (Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf) was right there, and they couldn’t do nothing but just look at the ball. The ball got completed. He scored. And they just shook their heads." 

The Patriots clearly have no regrets about being all-in on Maye, as he is a 2025 regular-season Most Valuable Player Award finalist who is guiding the club into this Sunday's Super Bowl LX matchup versus the Seattle Seahawks. As for Milton, there's no indication he will get a chance to replace Dak Prescott atop the Cowboys' depth chart anytime soon.