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Dallas Cowboys Cut Highly-Touted Quarterback In Shocking Move — Other NFL Teams Will Be Ready To Pounce

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This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Dak Prescott, Joe Milton and Sam Howell
Dak Prescott, Joe Milton and Sam Howell (Photo via Reuters Connect)

The Cowboys settled their backup quarterback competition Sunday, keeping three passers on their initial roster. That decision lasted less than 24 hours.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Dallas is releasing quarterback Joe Milton, ending a closely watched summer battle with Sam Howell for the No. 2 job behind Dak Prescott. Sam Howell now becomes the only backup quarterback on Dallas’s active roster.

“This will comeback to bite the cowboys in the butt. Bookmark this tweet. What a stupid decision,” one fan wrote in the comments.

“He can genuinely go start for the Cardinals or Jets,” another claimed.

A Roster Need Elsewhere Forced Dallas’s Hand

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer at press conference
Brian Schottenheimer (Photo via Imagn Images)

The move came together fast, and it wasn’t really about quarterbacks at all.

Dallas claimed running back Emari Demercado off waivers from Kansas City on Monday, a move that required a corresponding roster cut to create space.

Rather than trim depth at another position, the Cowboys chose to part with Milton, reversing an approach owner and general manager Jerry Jones had floated just days earlier.

“That’s one that we may just split the difference and have two backup quarterbacks here is the easy way to do it,” Jones previously said, referring to keeping both Milton and Howell.

Milton’s preseason performance made Monday’s decision genuinely surprising to plenty of observers.

He completed 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns across the exhibition slate, earning praise from head coach Brian Schottenheimer along the way.

He started Dallas’s preseason finale against New Orleans, going 8 of 15 for 92 yards before Howell entered and threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns in relief.

Milton Could Still Return To Dallas’s Practice Squad

Jul 26, 2025; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton (10) throws the ball at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dallas acquired Milton in a 2025 trade with New England, sending the Patriots a fifth-round pick in exchange for a sixth-round pick and a seventh-round pick.

He appeared in four games for the Cowboys last season, throwing for 183 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions. Milton remains subject to waivers, meaning he could return to Dallas’s practice squad if no other team claims him first.

Speculation about Milton’s future had already been building before Monday’s move. League sources previously suggested Dallas could fetch a fourth- or fifth-round pick in a trade involving one of its two backups, given his cheap contract and remaining team control through 2027.

Instead, Dallas chose an outright release, leaving Milton to find his next opportunity as final roster decisions continue shaking out across the league.

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