The Cowboys will have a lot of position battles this offseason, and Schottenheimer just confirmed another.
The one position group for the Dallas Cowboys that not many expected to be in a battle this offseason was quarterback.
Dak Prescott and Joe Miton. Those were the two.
Well, Brian Schottenheimer threw a stick of dynamite in the water and signed Sam Howell in free agency.
No, he won't take Dak's job, so stop it. But Milton's? Oh, yeah, there's a chance.
With Milton slowly progressing from raw talent to a player who has shown glimpses, either Dallas wanted to light a fire under Joe, or they see Howell as the player who can overtake him and give the offense the best shot at winning if Dak goes down.
Either way, the clock is ticking on Milton's time in Dallas.
Howell is no slouch, starting 18 games in his career, and there was a point where the Washington Commanders thought they had their guy.
But alas, Sam finds his way to Dallas, and as Schottenheimer states, it's an open competition this offseason.
"Sam was a guy, we watched the film, we were like, man, if we could have Sam Howell and Joe Milton on this football team, and give those guys both a chance to compete," Schottenheimer said. "They're both uber talented. It's an open competition.
"We're excited for both those guys to go, and you can never have enough quarterbacks to develop. A chance to get a guy like Sam, and Sam was excited to come here to be developed by us, and the way we do it. So, should be good."
With Howell and Milton now battling for the role of backup to Prescott, this offseason just got a whole lot more interesting.
It does say a lot about what Dallas thinks of Joe and his development to bring someone in to potentially take his job.
But this is professional football, and Milton, if he wants to stay as Dak's backup, is going to have to beat out Howell this offseason, which won't be easy.
But that's the point.
Push not only Joe to become a better player, but also dangle that carrot in front of Howell.
It's a win-win for the Cowboys.
But in Oxnard, there'll only be one winner.