The Dallas Cowboys knew quarterback Joe Milton III possessed rare talent before they waived him. And yet, Jerry Jones exposed him to waivers while hoping that no other team would claim him, allowing Milton to eventually return to their practice squad. That’s exactly what happened when the young quarterback went unclaimed and re-signed with Dallas’ practice squad.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Quarterback rooms around the league are pretty crowded right now, but he’s certainly talented enough to get claimed. It’s our good fortune that he wasn’t,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said.
The decision, however, has sparked debate over whether Dallas should have kept Milton as Dak Prescott’s backup instead of Sam Howell. Asante Samuel has now addressed the young signal-caller’s situation in Dallas, arguing that the Cowboys’ decision to first waive Milton and then bring him back has ultimately hurt the quarterback’s value and future.
On his Say What Needs To Be Said podcast, Asante made the case about Milton’s performance from last season, arguing that he should have been Dak Prescott’s backup QB over Sam Howell.
“He damn near played a perfect game per his quarterback rating, but didn’t make the team. Make that make sense. And what makes it worse is there isn’t even a third-string quarterback on the depth chart for the Dallas Cowboys. And I dare Jerry Jones- anybody who has authority for the Dallas Cowboys to run it back and have the players vote on which quarterback they want to back up Dak Prescott. Because who in the hell is choosing Sam Howell over Joe Milton?
“Nobody. Nobody in their right mind. Sam Howell, he might have a couple of friends who would give him the benefit of the doubt and vote for him just based on their relationship. But man, the Dallas Cowboys dragged Joe Milton value down to the ground, knowing they would get him back to the practice squad, and no other team will use his talent to potentially beat up on the Dallas Cowboys. I think this is just sad. It’s awful.”
Samuel’s comments raise questions considering the timing of the Cowboys’ decision to waive Milton. The team had waived the signal-caller after teams had finalized their rosters. At the same time, reports suggested that before waiving him, the Cowboys considered trading Milton but couldn’t finalize a deal.
That timing allowed Dallas to bring Milton back on the practice squad. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that while Joe Milton drew interest from multiple teams, he ultimately decided to return to Dallas.
The Cowboys traded their fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to acquire Milton from the New England Patriots, after the quarterback impressed with his performance. There’s no denying that Milton had limited opportunities while backing up Prescott in the 2025 season. But the 26-year-old turned heads this preseason.
Milton completed 29 of his 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions across three exhibition games, while also adding 12 carries for 14 rushing yards and another touchdown. And while he initially made it to the final roster, Dallas waived him the next day to make space for running back Emari Demercado.
Subsequently, Sam Howell became Prescott’s backup, while Milton found a spot on the practice squad.
Samuel’s argument, however, isn’t simply that Milton deserved the QB2 job. His criticism centers on Dallas’ decision to expose a young quarterback with considerable physical upside to the waiver wire in the hope that it could eventually bring him back. How that move would turn out for Joe Milton’s future remains to be seen.