Former Patriots QB Throws Shade at New England

When the New England Patriots selected quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, there was never any questions about who the Patriots were pinning their franchise on. However, the Patriots circled back in the seventh round and took physical freak Joe Milton out of Tennessee.

This strategy reminded many of what the then-Washington Redskins did in 2012 when they drafted Robert Griffin III No. 2 overall and then selected Kirk Cousins in the fourth round. Cousins proved to be the better quarterback, as he had three consecutive 4,000 yard seasons in Washington and put the franchise on the brink of multiple playoff berths.

History did not repeat itself in New England, though. Milton played well in the team's Week 18 matchup against the Buffalo Bills to close out the 2024 season, which led to New England trading him and a seventh-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Speaking to the media during Cowboys OTAs, the former Patriot seemed to throw some subtle shade at his former team. when asked about the Patriots' offense compared to the Cowboys' offense.

"It's way different," Milton said. "This offense here brings me back more to my college days. My last offense was more everybody get tagged on which routes. This offense here is more fast and for sure explosive."

In Milton's defense, he was playing with inferior weapons last year in New England, and an offense that didn't feature Josh McDaniels calling plays. Having CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to throw to is far different than throwing to KayShon Boutte and Ja'Lynn Polk. Depending on how Milton performs in the preseason, he could find himself in a situation similar to that of Teddy Bridgewater in 2018 when he was traded to the New Orleans Saints after a terrific preseason with the New York Jets.