Joe Milton III’s journey has gone in a big circle.
Two days after releasing him, a day after he cleared waivers, Dallas signed Milton to their practice squad and in that sense will carry three quarterbacks into the season. That the Cowboys got him back is the least surprising part of all of this, after being waived in the first place and then clearing waivers.
Meanwhile, the player who actually will be under center, Dak Prescott, just got his name on a best players list, along with four teammates. Here is the day in Dallas.
Joe Milton III back in Dallas
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton cleared waivers Tuesday, as none of
the other 31 teams put in a claim on him, then Dallas brought him back in a practice squad capacity. He’s still a free agent who can be added to any team’s 53-man roster, but seeing as no one claimed him, that doesn’t seem immediately likely.
The news of his practice squad signing was initially reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He will now be Dallas’ third QB after starter Dak Prescott and backup Sam Howell.
Both coach Brian Schottenheimer and executive vice president Stephen Jones (son of Jerry) made it clear they wanted Milton back in a practice squad capacity when they were discussing his release.
Jones went on an All DLLS Cowboys podcast and said, "“Joe obviously played really good in the preseason games. We really liked his performance. Sam did as well. But at the end of the day, when you took the full body of work in training camp, the practices against other teams, the coaches thought — albeit really close — Sam was the best choice for the team to go with as two now.
"We’d love to have Joe back. A lot of teams in this league figure out ways to carry three and four (quarterbacks]. We’ve got a lot of stress on our roster with this new defense and things that we’re doing that we can carry two (quarterbacks). We’re in talks with Joe. We’ll see if he gets claimed. If he doesn’t, we’d love to have Joe back as our three and on the practice squad.”
Meanwhile, per The Athletic's Jon Machota: "Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said it was a difficult decision to waive Joe Milton. He said they 'absolutely' would like to have him back on the roster. Schottenheimer thinks another year in the system would be 'amazing' for Milton."
Broderick Jones trade
Dallas made a couple of moves to reconfigure its depth at offensive tackle, picking up Broderick Jones from Pittsburgh as well as a 2027 fourth-round draft pick in exchange for 2027 third- and sixth-round picks. The Cowboys then traded swing tackle Nate Thomas to Houston for a 2027 seventh-round pick.
The initial assumption was that Dallas brought in Jones to fill that swing tackle (third tackle) role, but coach Brian Schottenheimer said that’s not the case, that he was brought in solely to compete for the starting right tackle job with Terence Steele.
Schottenheimer said he called Steele to explain that to him.
"As you can imagine, Terrence Steele was the ultimate pro," Schottenheimer said through DallasCowboys.com. "'Schotty, I get it, I appreciate the phone call. You didn't have to make the phone call.' And I said, 'I did, because I respect that you that much as a teammate and a player.' Broderick will be competing with Terence to be the starting right tackle of this football team."
Jones, meanwhile, is fired up for the change of scenery.
"It was a surprise, but I was excited for the change," Jones told DallasCowboys.com in his first interview following the trade. "You know, just going into the year after last year, me getting injured and just trying to get my feet back up under me — I feel like a new start was needed for me. I'm just ready to get here and get started."
ESPN player rankings: 5 Cowboys in top 100
ESPN has its annual Top 100 player rankings out and five Dallas Cowboys made the list, up from three last year (actually four, which included Micah Parsons, who was traded pretty much as the list was released).
The highest ranked is receiver CeeDee Lamb, who fell to 33rd from 19th on last year’s list. Quarterback Dak Prescott moved the other way, shooting up to 38th from 78th. Receiver George Pickens didn’t make this list in 2025 but now checks in at 46th. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is 57th (he was 52nd last year as a New York Jet) and guard Tyler Smith is now 88th, down from 77th.
Of Prescott, Todd Archer writes: “It is reasonable to expect 30 touchdown passes and 4,000 yards from Prescott, especially in his second season with Brian Schottenheimer as playcaller. The Cowboys have loved Prescott's intangibles since he arrived in 2016, but his development as a passer has improved with his ability to manipulate the defense. At his age, health is a concern given major injuries to his ankle, hamstring and right thumb, but the Cowboys believe Prescott's prime can extend for more than a few seasons.”
As for his 2026 projections, ESPN came up with 4,112 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 12 interceptions.
Dallas Cowboys depth chart
Offense (3 WR, 1 TE)
QB Dak Prescott, Sam Howell
RB Javonte Williams, Malik Davis, Emari Demercado
WR CeeDee Lamb, KaVontae Turpin
WR George Pickens, Jonathan Mingo
WR Ryan Flourney, Camden Brown
TE Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Luke Schoonmaker, Princeton Fant (IR)
FB Hunter Luepke
LT Tyler Guyton, Drew Shelton
LG Tyler Smith
C Cooper Beebee, T.J. Bass, Matt Hennessy (IR)
RG Tyler Booker
RT Terrence Steele, Broderick Jones, Ajani Cornelius
Defense (base 3-4)
LDE Quinnen Williams, LT Overton, Kelvin Gilliam Jr. (IR)
NT Otito Ogbonnis, Jonathan Bullard
RDE Kenny Clark
WLB Rashan Gary, Von Miller, James Houston, Tyrus Wheat
LILB DeMarvion Overshown, Shemar James
RILB Dee Winters, Jaishawn Barham
SLB Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence, Marist Liufau (IR)
LCB Cobie Durant, Shavon Revel Jr., Ameer Speed
SS Jalen Thompso,. Alijah Clark
FS Malik Hooker, PJ. Locke, Markquese Bell
RCB DaRon Blacnd, Caelen Carson, Devin Moore
NB Caleb Downs
Special teams
PK Brandon Aubrey
P Bryan Anger
H Bryan Anger
PR KaVontae Turpin, Caleb Downs, Jonathan Mingo
KR KaVontae Turpin, Malik Davis
LS Trent Sieg
Dallas Cowboys next game
The Dallas Cowboys open their regular season on Sunday Night Football (Sept. 13) against the New York Giants in a game that will mark the debut of Giants coach Jim Harbaugh. Kickoff is set for 6:20 p.m. MT/7:20 p.m. CT.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Joe Milton III’s strange journey lands him back with Dallas Cowboys
