FRISCO, Texas — Dak Prescott said he expected Joe Milton III to be claimed off waivers, and that the Dallas Cowboys got a player back who makes the quarterback room better.
Prescott’s read on his own job now is to keep Milton’s disappointment from derailing a trajectory he believes in.
“It means a lot,” Prescott said. “Me just personally thought he would have been picked up in the wire, the waivers, whatever it is, and fortunate for us. We got a hell of a player back and a guy that makes our room better, the guy that makes our team better. His spirit, just the way that he approaches the day, even when he was wearing camo pants. He’s a hell of a dude. He’s a hell of a competitor. One of the best at throwing the ball, honestly, and just his talent.”
“So just the way he’s even jumped and progressed from year to year, I know what’s ahead of him,” Prescott continued. “So for me, it’s just about being the right leader and the right brother for him, giving him everything he needs and make sure that he’s not pissed off. Or, I mean, I’m sure he’s pissed off, but doesn’t allow that competition and him not getting what he wants to derail his overall growth and just the progression and the trajectory that he’s ultimately on and just staying on that.”
Dak Prescott On What The Milton Decision Says About The Cowboys
Milton could have signed to another team’s practice squad and chose Dallas.
“We invest a lot in each other,” Prescott explained. “You’ve got a common goal and you’ve got a shared goal, you spend as much time around each other as we do in this building. It’s natural to an extent, but we’ve got the right guys who understand that they can’t do it alone. You need the man next to you, and it’s not just going to happen on the football field. It’s going to come through the relationship that you make off the field, and that’s only going to help everything between the lines.”
The Waiver Sequence
Dallas waived Milton on Monday after claiming running back Emari Demercado and named Sam Howell the backup. Milton went unclaimed and re-signed to the practice squad Wednesday. Jordan Schultz reported that Milton drew interest from most of the league and wanted to stay in Dallas.
Milton completed 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions in three preseason games. He added 12 carries for 14 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Dallas traded a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for Milton and a seventh-rounder in the 2025 offseason. He appeared in four games last season as Prescott’s backup, going 15-of-24 for 183 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday that he was elated when Milton told him he was coming back.
The Cowboys open Sept. 13 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
