Dallas successfully gambled on the waiver wire to retain raw, high-upside passer Joe Milton, fueling a heated training camp competition for the primary backup role behind Dak Prescott.
FRISCO - We tried to tell you, dear reader, that the Dallas Cowboys' release of Joe Milton was part of a calculated plan ... and not a reason for panic.
And now the Cowboys have confirmed exactly that.
Dak Prescott's backup QBs are Sam Howell. ... and once again, Joe Milton.
The Dallas Cowboys on Monday waived Milton, in part to make room for new running back Emari Demercado, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City. ... and in part as a strategic move, believing that no other team would put in a claim for the athletically-talented project.
They were right.
We were right.
The panties-in-a-wad critics were wrong.
Once upon a time, Milton was considered a sort of circus act.
"I first remember I heard about Joe Milton and everyone applauded him for how hard and how far he could throw the ball ... Cool, that's awesome, go be in a carnival somewhere," coach Brian Schottenheimer recently said. "That's not what playing NFL quarterback is. It's not, 'I can throw the ball 85 yards.'
"So ... go to the fair and win a teddy bear.''
"But you gotto play quarterback, and that's what I think you see Joe learning. He's playing quarterback, and he's playing quarterback at a high level."
Milton, in part due to that (relatively) "high level,'' is now back in the fold, returning here to The Star and re-upping with the club on Wednesday.
He was a non-Cowboys for, what ... two days?
Milton, who worked as Prescott's backup in 2025, developed this offseason and performed well in preseason and in training camp. And as we've reported all along, he is clearly the better upside project over Howell.
But there are those inside The Star who trust that Howell would be the more immediately ready "bus driver'' in case of a Prescott injury.
The Washington ex Howell has 18 career starts. Milton - athletically superior to almost every QB in the NFL, not just Howell - has played in five games in two years with no starts.
But now, it doesn't matter who was right or wrong about Howell vs. Milton ... because the Cowboys employ them both, and their "neck-and-neck'' competition can now continue.
There are stories that the Cowboys tried to trade Milton? We're told they did have those conversations. But as we reported days ago, the multiple outlets that suggested the Cowboys could get a third-round pick for him in a swap were badly misinformed.
He is not regarded as that "high-level'' of a commodity. ... obviously, because none of the other 31 teams bothered to claim him.
There have also been reports that Milton is "the natural heir'' as a starter when Dak leaves. That's a media notion; we've never heard anyone inside The Star sputters such nonsense.
What Schotty did say on Tuesday: "I think Joe is going to be a terrific player in this league.''
And that would be something in regard to where he might be going someday.
But the coach also said that another year in Dallas would be "amazing'' for the development of the 26-year-old.
And that would be being honest in regard to where he is right now.
There's another rumor that Milton "demanded'' to be released. We have not been told that. Nor do we see the logic in him doing that. After all, why would a guy in competition to be Dallas' No. 2 "demand' to be subjected to waivers, where he might end up being, say, Cleveland's No. 4?
In the end, Dallas had a plan that came with a smidgeon of risk. But even that "risk'' would've only come back to bite the Cowboys had Milton gone elsewhere and become a raging success (while Howell flopped).
The plan worked. Howell and Milton are both back in the building ... just like the Cowboys planned them to be all along.
