By applying the developmental blueprint used for Cooper Rush, Dallas aims to transform Joe Milton’s elite physical tools into a polished, winning formula on the practice squad.
Joe Milton might be the most physically gifted practice-squad quarterback in football.
In fact, as his new/old team prepares for this week's start of the NFL season, he's insisting, “I’m still the best quarterback in my eyes.''
The Dallas Cowboys now get to find out whether that actually means anything.
Milton clearing waivers and returning to Dallas last week was initially significant because of what the Cowboys avoided losing. They kept a 6-foot-5 quarterback with extraordinary arm strength in the building without sacrificing a spot on their 53-man roster.
There is another reason his return should be fascinating … Dallas has already turned a practice-squad quarterback with a fraction of Milton's physical gifts into someone capable of winning NFL games.
Cooper Rush is the blueprint.
The Cowboys brought Rush back on their practice squad during the 2020 season following a brief stint with the New York Giants. Two years later, Dallas released him during final roster cuts, signed him to the practice squad and eventually moved him back to the active roster.
Then Dak Prescott fractured his thumb in the 2022 season opener.
What followed remains one of the better stretches Dallas has gotten from a backup quarterback in recent memory.
Rush won his first four starts in Prescott's absence before losing to Philadelphia, helping keep alive a season that eventually ended at 12-5.
He received another extended opportunity two years later — going 4-4 over eight starts after Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
By the time Rush left Dallas, an undrafted quarterback from Central Michigan had made 14 starts for the Cowboys and gone 9-5.
That's where the comparison to Milton gets interesting.
Rush built an NFL career without possessing overwhelming physical tools. Milton's physical ability has never required much imagination.
New England spent a sixth-round pick on him in 2024, and Dallas acquired him the following offseason. He gave the Cowboys another glimpse of those tools this preseason — completing 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He still lost the QB2 competition to Sam Howell.
That matters … and it gives this entire experiment some necessary perspective.
Dallas watched the entire offseason before determining Howell was more prepared to execute Brian Schottenheimer's offense.
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys evaluated the whole body of work and believed Howell had done more in certain areas, also praising his grasp of the playbook and ability to work through progressions.
Milton then cleared waivers.
For all the attention generated by his arm strength and preseason numbers, another team could have claimed Milton for its active roster. None did.
Schottenheimer pointed toward crowded quarterback rooms around the league as one potential explanation … and admitted he was surprised Milton made it through.
Joe was "shocked'' by it all, he said.
“Yeah. It was shocking,'' Milton said on Monday. "But it’s life. You got to be able to live with it and deliver blows back when it’s time.”
The result gives Dallas another opportunity to work with a developmental quarterback now in his third NFL season.
Schottenheimer was "elated" when Milton chose to return and described his talent as "so rare." Milton also received reps alongside Prescott and Howell upon his return — another indication Dallas intends to keep developing him rather than simply stashing an intriguing arm on the practice squad.
Rush never needed to develop Milton's arm or become an elite athlete. Dallas helped an undrafted quarterback maximize the traits he did possess until it could trust him to win games when Prescott wasn't available.
Imagine the payoff if the Cowboys can do the same with Milton.
That isn't a prediction that Milton becomes Dallas' future starter. He has five NFL appearances on his résumé, lost the backup competition this summer and currently sits behind two quarterbacks on the depth chart.
There is an enormous distance between intriguing and proven … and Milton still has to close it.
Dallas gets to find out whether he can without spending a 53-man roster spot to do so.
That's what makes this experiment worthwhile.
The Cowboys have already taken a quarterback from their practice squad and turned him into a 9-5 NFL starter for them.
This time, they're beginning with far more physical talent to work with.
