New England Patriots fans have been overwhelmingly happy with the early tenure of new head coach Mike Vrabel. The organization earned a high grade for its wave of free agent signings, and Vrabel has made a passionate promise that fans would “be proud of” what the Patriots accomplish in 2025.
But this week Patriots Nation got its first taste of controversy under the new Vrabel regime, when the Patriots traded backup quarterback Joe Milton III, a sixth-round draft pick, 193rd overall, in 2024. The media response largely mirrored the ambiguous feelings of fans.
Media, Fans Have Mixed Feelings on Milton Trade
“I don’t understand why the Patriots were hell bent on moving Joe Milton. Nothing wrong with having a good backup QB and they traded him away smh,” wrote ESPN’s Skubie Mageza.
“The likelihood of Joe Milton being good is pretty low. But at $3.5M over the next three years and it only cost a Day 3 pick swap? Sign me up,” said Locked on Cowboys podcast host Marcus Mosher.
“Trade of Joe Milton III for modest draft-pick return sparks a thought that it was driven as much by QB-room dynamics as anything else. It clears the runway for Drake Maye. Maye and veteran Joshua Dobbs the lone QBs now in the room,” wrote longtime Patriots beat reporter Mike Reiss.
According to another veteran Patriots reporter, Karen Guregian of MassLive, “Milton fancied himself a starter. He didn’t see himself being given a legitimate chance to compete with (Patriots starter) Drake Maye. He also believed he was good enough to give Maye a run, if not overtake him for the top job.”
Vrabel, according to Guregian’s reporting, found Milton’s attitude inconsistent with the culture he is now trying create in the New England locker room.
But if Milton believes that he can compete with Maye, would he also feel stuck behind the Cowboy’s established starting quarterback, 10-year veteran Dak Prescott? So far, in his limited public statements, Milton has been nothing but admiring of Prescott.
2-Time Super Bowl Champ Delivers Blunt Message
But one former two-time Super Bowl champ had blunt, three-word warning for Prescott after the Cowboys traded for the 25-year-old Patriots quarterback.
“Find a realtor,” said LeSean McCoy, speaking on the Fox Sports program The Facility.
McCoy is a former Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles running back who won Super Bowls in the last two seasons of his career — in 2019 with the Kansas City Chiefs, and 2020 with the Tampa Bay Bucanneers.
McCoy was also a first-team All-Pro in 2011 and 2013, and a Pro Bowl pick in six seasons of his 12-year career. He believed that the Cowboys’ acquisition of the highly athletic Milton puts Prescott in a vulnerable position.
“If Dak Prescott has a postseason like he’s always had going into that next year, right? Dak, find a realtor,” McCoy said. “Joe Milton got talent, he can play … I’ve seen other quarterbacks get paid a lot of money, and they move on from them.”
Prescott will be entering the second season of a four-year, $240 million contract with Dallas.
Milton may have a better chance of starting games for the Cowboys than he would in New England, if only because Prescott, now 31 years old, has been injury prone in recent years. Out of a possible 51 regular season games over the past three seasons, Prescott has appeared in only 37.
