Dak Prescott watched the first Dallas Cowboys preseason game from the sidelines as Joe Milton took the field. Milton, who was traded to Dallas this offseason from the New England Patriots, received all but one series from head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Results were mixed as the Cowboys wound up losing to the Los Angeles Rams. […]
Dak Prescott watched the first Dallas Cowboys preseason game from the sidelines as Joe Milton took the field. Milton, who was traded to Dallas this offseason from the New England Patriots, received all but one series from head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Results were mixed as the Cowboys wound up losing to the Los Angeles Rams.
Milton appears to be the only one in the running to be Prescott’s backup. Will Grier is on the roster but did not feature in the preseason game. Even so, Schottenheimer is still not ready to make the title official for Milton.
“We don’t have to decide that today,” Schottenheimer said via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “… I need to get to learn him as the play-caller. … I’m not going to say who the backup running back is right now, who the backup quarterback is right now, because I don’t have to make those decisions yet.
“Our plan all along has been that we need to find out about Joe Milton. Under no circumstance am I panicked or worried about Joe Milton. Joe Milton played really well in the second half. He did some really good things. He calmed down. He figured it out.”
Backup quarterbacks have been important to Dallas in recent years. Prescott has missed time due to injuries, leaving Cooper Rush as the team’s starting quarterback. Both short and long-term scenarios have played out. Rush, for the most part, found a good amount of success coming out of the bullpen. While the Cowboys are hoping Prescott can stay healthy, knowing a quality player is behind him brings a little more reassurance.
Milton completed 17 of 29 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. A yards per attempt of 4.9 is less than ideal, looking for a little more accuracy. A few plays say Milton overthrow open receivers, one of the downsides of his big arm.
But as Schottenheimer mentions, there is still time to evaluate where Milton is heading. The Cowboys are still out in Oxnard, continuing training camp. Friday night will bring another preseason game for them, going up against the Atlanta Falcons inside AT&T Stadium.
There will be an injury for Dallas to monitor before then. Milton did have an elbow issue coming out of the Rams game but from the start, has said he is good to go. Hopefully, as the week develops, the same rings true for the quarterback.
Category: Football
