October 17, 2026
The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Friday evening that they have signed QB Joe Milton to their 53-man roster from the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.
Milton was a New England Patriots sixth-round pick in 2024. He played in one game for the Patriots in 2024, a Week 18 matchup against the Buffalo Bills that eliminated the Patriots' chances at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft. In that game Milton completed 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, and a rushing TD.
He was traded a few months later along with a seventh-round pick to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick. In 2025, Milton appeared in four games. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 183 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INTs. He ran 5 times for 50 yards.
Milton is 6'5, 236 pounds, and he has a cannon for an arm. From a pure physical traits perspective, Milton is as impressive as any quarterback in the NFL.
However, his game is unrefined, and he is already 26 years old because he spent six years in college at Michigan and Tennessee. His scouting report coming out of college, via Lance Zierlein:
Rare physical specimen with the proverbial "arm talent to make all the NFL throws," but he's prevented from doing so by a lack of timing, accuracy and touch. Milton is gifted with a cannon for a right arm and can throw the ball as hard or as far as you want. His fastballs are often inaccurate and difficult to catch for moving targets, and he was wildly inconsistent locating his deep throws. He can elude pressure, extend plays and put jaw-dropping highlights on tape, but he's never been able to mature his game from splashy to consistent. He's primarily a single-side reader who struggles to improvise with his eyes. The physical ingredients could get him drafted on Day 3, but his lack of development over six seasons discourages his projection.
Here are some of those aforementioned highlights from his final season at Tennessee:
The Eagles were in need of quarterback reinforcements after the revelation that Jalen Hurts is out indefinitely with a superficial blood clot. Tanner McKee will start on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, and fifth-round rookie project Cole Payton will back him up.
The Eagles probably could have re-signed Andy Dalton, who spent all offseason with the team, is looking for employment, and moved his family to the Philadelphia area. Dalton and Milton really couldn't be any different. Dalton is a highly experienced quarterback, but his physical abilities have eroded over time. Milton is a physical specimen who has just 53 career pass attempts.
It's interesting that the Eagles opted for the project over the seasoned veteran, especially when the next quarterback up is an unready Payton, should McKee get hurt. Perhaps that's a clue that the Eagles are aware that a deep playoff run is not in their immediate future.
And certainly, a smaller component of this signing is that the Eagles will mine Milton for information in advance of their Week 7 matchup against the Cowboys.
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