The New England Patriots traded away second-year quarterback Joe Milton last week, sending him to Dallas with a seventh-round pick for a fifth-round selection in 2025. The small return and the timing of the deal has many wondering why the Patriots were so eager to trade away the quarterback instead of waiting for a nicer trade package.
The trade came just days before Patriots players reported to Foxboro for the start of the team's offseason workout program, which began Monday. The timing of the deal was no accident, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.
"The timing, according to a source familiar with the team's thinking, wasn't a coincidence," Reiss wrote Sunday. "Monday marks the start of the team's voluntary program, and Vrabel views that as a meaningful checkpoint in the process of establishing team culture and the dynamic that ideally unfolds within each position group."
Milton reportedly wanted an opportunity to be a starter, and wasn't going to get that behind Drake Maye in New England. The Patriots also signed veteran Josh Dobbs to a two-year deal that will pay him $8 million over the offseason, which kept Milton third on the depth chart.
That may not have sit well with Milton, and it appears Vrabel has gotten ahead of a potential headache on the field. But Reiss still questions why the Patriots would move on from a perceived asset for such little compensation.
"I'm a little surprising with the timing. He's not just leaving -- they gave him away," Reiss said of the Milton trade during Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV. "It sparks the question, why? And why now and why not wait and try to get more for him?"
Trading Milton clears quarterback room dynamic in New England
The Patriots drafted both Maye (third overall) and Milton (in the sixth round) in the 2024 NFL Draft. Maye ultimately won the starting job by midseason, though Milton looked solid after replacing Maye in Week 18 against a resting Buffalo Bills team.
MIlton threw for 241 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score in the 23-16 victory, which had him feeling pretty good about himself at the NFL level. While Maye is the clear starter in New England, Reiss believes Milton was traded to clear up the dynamic in the quarterbacks room in Foxboro.
"To me, this trade is all about quarterback room dynamics," Reiss said Sunday night. "You Have Drake Maye, you have the veteran Josh Dobbs, and you have Joe Milton. I believe Mike Vrabel is calculating the chemistry of the overall group and saying, 'Joe Milton wants to play, let's give him an opportunity somewhere else and maybe bring in another third quarterback.'"
Was there friction between Drake Maye and Joe Milton?
After the Milton trade was announced, it led to speculation that Maye might not have felt comfortable with having Milton behind him on the depth chart. Reiss fought back on that notion.
"I haven't heard that specifically," said Reiss. "But I use the example of 2016; that is the ideal scenario for the Patriots in a quarterback room. You had Tom Brady, you had Jimmy Garoppolo pushing Tom Brady, and then you had Jacoby Brissett, the rookie coming in. That's three good quarterbacks pushing each other, but also supporting each other at the same time.
"There is a little nuisance to the discussion. It's not that you're trying to take competition away -- you want competition to push Drake Maye," said Reiss. "But you also want that competition to be supportive of Drake Maye, and that's what they're trying to create."
WBZ-TV's Steve Burton believes the depth chart played a big factor in trading away Milton.
"Everybody knows that Drake Maye is going to be the starting quarterback," said Burton. "But I have a feeling they didn't want Drake Maye looking over his shoulder."
Reiss reported in his Sunday column the Patriots will be looking to add a third quarterback late in the draft (between rounds three and seven) or on the undrafted free-agent market this offseason.
Matt Geagan
Matthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.