Among the many expected moves the Patriots were projected to make this offseason was deciding the future of second-year quarterback Joe Milton III. After selecting Drake Maye with the third overall pick, the Jerod Mayo-led team shocked the NFL by taking another quarterback in the sixth round, one who viewed himself as a starter, which created significant drama during the season.

The new regime, now led by Mike Vrabel, was presumed to decide Milton’s future to avoid further distractions while also capitalizing on his trade value after an impressive season finale game. That inevitably led to him being traded to the Cowboys, which was an interesting move given that Dak Prescott is their starting quarterback, but head coach Brian Schottenheimer was excited before he even arrived in Dallas.

That has only grown stronger since the Cowboys have had OTAs and mini-camp, as Milton’s performance is already creating buzz for the NFC East team, which might make Vrabel regret ever trading him.

The Patriots cannot look to the past with Joe Milton, no matter how good he looks for the Cowboys

It was bound to happen that Milton would begin practicing with his new team, and he would instantly make headlines for his impressive performance on the field, particularly for his outstanding arm strength. That’s exactly what’s already happened, with even Cowboys reporter Bobby Belt declared a quarterback battle will be the talk of the season at some point.

“I can already hear it now. You’re going to hear so much of the ‘why isn’t Joe Milton starting? We should have Joe Milton starting.’ Because you’re going to see it.”

That’s precisely the kind of thing the Patriots wanted to avoid moving forward, as they made it clear Maye was going to be the QB1. Presumably, that was something the Cowboys weren’t anticipating happening since Prescott has been their starter, but the drama might already be brewing.

Regardless, the Patriots made the right decision by trading Milton, even if he might be an explosive player for his new team. They were fortunate to add a reliable veteran like Joshua Dobbs to work with Maye, and the discussion about who will be the starter will not be had this year.

It will allow the team to mesh together and recognize who is where and what their role is on the team without any questioning or whispers behind the scenes. That’s the biggest reason why trading for Milton made sense and won’t be remembered as a mistake for Vrabel in his Patriots tenure.