Joe Milton traded to Cowboys

[Sierra Foothills]

3 minutes ago, mannc said:

I figured that was the reason.  It’s still stupid.

 

I always questioned the practice of "clearing the way" for the undisputed starter.

 

1) It contradicts the "steel sharpens steel" principle.

2) It brings into question the mental toughness of the presumed starter.

 

That said, we've seen it done many times.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

44 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

From ProFootballTalk:

 

"... the message is unmistakable. Vrabel didn’t want Milton to be around when the process begins of crafting a team that will be clearly and unambiguously led by Drake Maye.

There’s been plenty of chatter about the concern that Milton’s mere presence undermines Maye. Milton has skills. Milton played well, both in the preseason and in a Week 18 win over the Bills that cost New England the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The Patriots apparently don’t want on the roster a quarterback around whom some players and plenty of fans might rally if/when Maye experiences obstacles in the effort to achieve his ceiling. They want Maye to be the guy. If there’s another guy for whom a plausible argument can be made that he’s the guy, it becomes harder for Maye to be and stay the guy.

The move leaves the Patriots with only two quarterbacks on the roster: Maye and Joshua Dobbs. They’ll inevitably be adding someone to replace Milton.

Someone who won’t dilute the Drake Maye vibe in New England."

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-patriots-wanted-to-trade-joe-milton-iii-before-start-of-offseason-program

 

Oh sweet baby Jesus, please let Joe Milton be a pro bowler and Maye to be a middling starter for ten years 

[Doc]

7 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Oh sweet baby Jesus, please let Joe Milton be a pro bowler and Maye to be a middling starter for ten years 

 

Ideally they both suck.

[Captain Hindsight]

11 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Ideally they both suck.

Oh sure, but the crying in NE would be far funnier 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

13 hours ago, cle23 said:

 

He checks all the PHYSICAL boxes.  He hasn't checked all the mental boxes all the way through college.  

 

He was a below 50% passer in high school as well.  

Josh Allen also hovered around a 56 completion % during his 2 full years starting at Wyoming. It’s not written in stone. The physical attributes are just too good to completely ignore and I’m sure he will have every opportunity to compete in Dallas where patience has been wearing thin for Dak.

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Josh Allen also hovered around a 56 completion % during his 2 full years starting at Wyoming. It’s not written in stone. The physical attributes are just too good to completely ignore and I’m sure he will have every opportunity to compete in Dallas where patience has been wearing thin for Dak.

Tennessee also has a very friendly offense to run 

 

Josh Allen was playing under center running for his life at Wyoming...

 

Tennessee is also a very good wide receiver School consistently getting wide receivers drafted and put in as undrafted free agents.. 

 

Nico I, who is Tennessee's current starting quarterback and a true sophomore.. basically had the same stat line as Milton as a 6th year senior 

 

You would expect more than 20tds out of a 6th year senior who had NFL aspirations

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 4/5/2025 at 11:36 PM, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

I find this an odd comparison boyst. Milton has more talent in his pinkie than Tyrod does in his arm.

 

 

It doesn't seem like a bad trade for whom?

 

 

FWIW, Lance signed with the Chargers yesterday.

 

 

I agree with the handful of posters in this topic who say that NE didn't want Milton around in the event Maye stumbles.

 

 

He doesn't have to beat out Dak... Prescott has missed 24 games in the last 5 seasons. He's not exactly an ironman.

 

 

Milton had a much better career than Anthony Richardson and Richardson was drafted 4th overall.

 

Milton was the MVP of the Orange Bowl if I recall correctly.

 

Milton just turned 25 and I would not write him off at this point.

 

 

I'm curious what prompted you to bring up Brian Thomas Jr. in this topic?

 

 

The team who got a 5th round pick for a player they weren't planning to keep.  

[Sierra Foothills]

41 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

The team who got a 5th round pick for a player they weren't planning to keep.  

 

As was posted upthread, the Cowboys received Milton and a 7th round pick in return for that 5th.

 

In other words the Cowboys got Milton simply by moving down 47 spots.

 

Most people feel that Dallas was the team that won the trade.

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

Just now, Sierra Foothills said:

 

As was posted upthread, the Cowboys received Milton and a 7th round pick in return for that 5th.

 

In other words the Cowboys got Milton simply by moving down 47 spots.

 

Most people feel that Dallas was the team that won the trade.

 

 

If you plan to release milton then he's really not... worth anything?  

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

On 4/6/2025 at 11:13 AM, Sierra Foothills said:

 

I always questioned the practice of "clearing the way" for the undisputed starter.

 

1) It contradicts the "steel sharpens steel" principle.

2) It brings into question the mental toughness of the presumed starter.

 

That said, we've seen it done many times.

 

 

Are we sure that Milton qualifies as "steel" in this scenario?  He was picked after Travis and Rattler a year ago, and belongs firmly on the roster bubble for every team in the league.  Every team has at least 2 QBs on the roster currently, and then another 10 will probably get drafted.  Throw in some UDFA's.  

 

Dallas paid the 5th so they could have Milton for camp, and probably won't draft a QB now.  The other 10 guys drafted this year will push people off rosters - and he's a 6th round pick so he's far from a roster lock with anyone.  I do think NFL "development" for a QB happens mostly in the offseason, as mid-season the backup QB gets very little work, and if you're the 3rd QB you're actually practicing another teams offense.  

[Mr. WEO]

On 4/6/2025 at 11:13 AM, Sierra Foothills said:

 

I always questioned the practice of "clearing the way" for the undisputed starter.

 

1) It contradicts the "steel sharpens steel" principle.

2) It brings into question the mental toughness of the presumed starter.

 

That said, we've seen it done many times.

 

 

 

That's a coaching cliche--doesn't exist.

 

I get there a lot of posters who suddenly are trying to create a bit of Milton myth because he took a meaningless game off the Bills that they were actively attempting to lose, but this kid never "tempered any of the QBs ahead of him over 6 years in 2 Power 5 programs.

 

No sane person present would view Milton vs Maye in a NE training camp as a legitimate "QB competition".  Did Nate Peterman "temper" Josh in his rookie year? lol

Edited Monday at 04:11 PM by Mr. WEO

[Albany,n.y.]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

.  Did Nate Peterman "temper" Josh in his rookie year? lol

That was Jake Fromm's job when the Bills drafted him. 😀  I remember Boston writer Dan Shaughnessy saying Fromm would beat out Allen  

 

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

22 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Tennessee also has a very friendly offense to run 

 

Josh Allen was playing under center running for his life at Wyoming...

 

Tennessee is also a very good wide receiver School consistently getting wide receivers drafted and put in as undrafted free agents.. 

 

Nico I, who is Tennessee's current starting quarterback and a true sophomore.. basically had the same stat line as Milton as a 6th year senior 

 

You would expect more than 20tds out of a 6th year senior who had NFL aspirations

I’m talking about purely physical attributes. He’s built like a Josh Allen/Randall Cunningham clone. Some coach out there is going to think he can mold something out of him. 

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I’m talking about purely physical attributes. He’s built like a Josh Allen/Randall Cunningham clone. Some coach out there is going to think he can mold something out of him. 

Ofc he is supremely physically gifted 

[Sierra Foothills]

10 hours ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

If you plan to release milton then he's really not... worth anything?  

 

Is there any proof that Milton was close to being released?

 

Obviously his market value wasn't high but that doesn't automatically equate to no other possible trade partners.

 

In answer to your question (and regardless of our opinions) Milton's worth exactly what was paid for him... which is not much but also more than nothing.

 

9 hours ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

Are we sure that Milton qualifies as "steel" in this scenario?  He was picked after Travis and Rattler a year ago, and belongs firmly on the roster bubble for every team in the league.  Every team has at least 2 QBs on the roster currently, and then another 10 will probably get drafted.  Throw in some UDFA's.  

 

 

8 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

That's a coaching cliche ("steel sharpens steel")--doesn't exist.

 

I get there a lot of posters who suddenly are trying to create a bit of Milton myth because he took a meaningless game off the Bills that they were actively attempting to lose, but this kid never "tempered any of the QBs ahead of him over 6 years in 2 Power 5 programs.

 

No sane person present would view Milton vs Maye in a NE training camp as a legitimate "QB competition".  Did Nate Peterman "temper" Josh in his rookie year? lol

 

My "steel sharpens steel" comment was in a post that didn't mention even Milton... and in fact that specific post addressed the practice of "clearing the way" for an undisputed starter. I said verbatim:

 

I always questioned the practice of "clearing the way" for the undisputed starter.

 

1) It contradicts the "steel sharpens steel" principle.

2) It brings into question the mental toughness of the presumed starter.

 

That said, we've seen it done many times.

 

That said, you don't have to agree with my assessment. There are numerous stories regarding the Milton trade that state that Vrabel wanted to remove any perceived threats in Drake Maye's mind. That was the bigger point in my post.

 

 

And if you don't think there are legitimate examples of "steel sharpening steel" (i.e.- legitimate competitions which improve both players) then we'll simply not agree.

 

[Mr. WEO]

9 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Is there any proof that Milton was close to being released?

 

Obviously his market value wasn't high but that doesn't automatically equate to no other possible trade partners.

 

In answer to your question (and regardless of our opinions) Milton's worth exactly what was paid for him... which is not much but also more than nothing.

 

 

 

My "steel sharpens steel" comment was in a post that didn't mention even Milton... and in fact that specific post addressed the practice of "clearing the way" for an undisputed starter. I said verbatim:

 

I always questioned the practice of "clearing the way" for the undisputed starter.

 

1) It contradicts the "steel sharpens steel" principle.

2) It brings into question the mental toughness of the presumed starter.

 

That said, we've seen it done many times.

 

That said, you don't have to agree with my assessment. There are numerous stories regarding the Milton trade that state that Vrabel wanted to remove any perceived threats in Drake Maye's mind. That was the bigger point in my post.

 

 

And if you don't think there are legitimate examples of "steel sharpening steel" (i.e.- legitimate competitions which improve both players) then we'll simply not agree.

 

 

Steel sharpening steel suggests at least some equivalence between the 2 competitors.....

 

In this case the equivalence is Milton or Dobbs.  Neither would, in training camp, make Maye better just by practicing along side him, as they have no chance of unseating him as starter........unless of course each "was willing to give 110%", or "leave it all on the field", willing to "play a full 60 minutes" while "being 1 of 11" and...well, you get the picture.

[SirAndrew]

On 4/6/2025 at 9:09 AM, Doc said:

Dumb move IMHO.  They spent a mid-6th rounder on him and got back essentially a high 6th rounder in value.  I realize that the last game was against Bills' backups, but there was potential and at least had value as a backup.

 

And I find it funny that people are sold on Maye.  He didn't even have as good a season as Mac Jones did as a rookie, and look where he is now.

I know the physical attributes are different, but Maye’s personality/look reminds me a lot of Mac Jones. I don’t see the “it factor” in Maye that makes me believe he’ll be an elite QB. 

[Mr. WEO]

45 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

I know the physical attributes are different, but Maye’s personality/look reminds me a lot of Mac Jones. I don’t see the “it factor” in Maye that makes me believe he’ll be an elite QB. 

 

did you see it here?:  lol

 

"With an endorsement like this from Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley, it's clear rookie EJ Manuel won't wait long before becoming the franchise's starting quarterback.

"Most successful quarterbacks have that 'it' factor. He has that 'it' factor," Whaley told XM NFL Radio. "When he walks into a room, there's a presence and people take notice. He's going to be the face of our franchise, and it's not too big for him."

 

and when it came for steel to forge this piece of steel:

 

"Manuel, the 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft, is competing with Kevin Kolb for the starting job."

 

"Those guys are battling out and that's a heck of a battle right now." !!!!

 

[SirAndrew]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

did you see it here?:  lol

 

"With an endorsement like this from Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley, it's clear rookie EJ Manuel won't wait long before becoming the franchise's starting quarterback.

"Most successful quarterbacks have that 'it' factor. He has that 'it' factor," Whaley told XM NFL Radio. "When he walks into a room, there's a presence and people take notice. He's going to be the face of our franchise, and it's not too big for him."

 

and when it came for steel to forge this piece of steel:

 

"Manuel, the 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft, is competing with Kevin Kolb for the starting job."

 

"Those guys are battling out and that's a heck of a battle right now." !!!!

 

No, I never saw the “it factor” in Manuel, but some people did, including Whaley 😆 . I supposed it’s all a matter of how we perceive things. I think many of us saw something special in Allen from the start, I know I did. Maye gives off some of the same entitled frat boy vibes that I got from Mac Jones. I don’t see that in most successful NFL QB’s. 

[Mr. WEO]

51 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

No, I never saw the “it factor” in Manuel, but some people did, including Whaley 😆 . I supposed it’s all a matter of how we perceive things. I think many of us saw something special in Allen from the start, I know I did. Maye gives off some of the same entitled frat boy vibes that I got from Mac Jones. I don’t see that in most successful NFL QB’s. 

 

Rule of thumb: stay away from QBs from basketball dynasty programs: e.g. Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA (2 exceptions in a million years), Louisville (2 exceptions in 70 years).