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Backup plan: Cowboys trade for Pats QB Milton

  • Todd ArcherApr 3, 2025, 10:21 AM ET

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      Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys’ search for a backup quarterback to Dak Prescott has landed on Joe Milton III.

The Cowboys acquired Milton and a 2025 seventh-round pick (No. 217) from the New England Patriots for a 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 171) on Thursday.

Talks between the clubs started a few weeks ago and escalated this week during the NFL’s annual meeting at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Cowboys’ need for a backup rose after Cooper Rush signed a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens that guaranteed him $4.2 million. Earlier in free agency, the Cowboys targeted Jacoby Brissett, per sources, but he signed with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys were also looking at Drew Lock, who spent last year with the New York Giants.

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