Mike Vrabel Explains Reasoning For Patriots Trading Joe Milton III
All eyes certainly will be on what the New England Patriots will do with the No. 4 overall pick in next week’s NFL draft.
But there will also be some added attention paid to the Patriots when they get on the clock in the fifth round with the No. 171 selection. That’s because that’s the pick the Patriots received from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Joe Milton III earlier this month.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the trade for the first time during his pre-draft press conference Tuesday at Gillette Stadium and gave his reasoning why New England chose to part ways with the promising young quarterback.
“We felt like his reps were going to be decreased as we worked through the offseason,” Vrabel told reporters, per MassLive’s Karen Guregian. “We felt like, just like every other decision, we were going to do what’s best for the team, and that’s the decision we ultimately made. I’m excited to move forward with Drake (Maye) and Josh (Dobbs).”
There really wasn’t much room for growth for Milton with the Patriots. They already have a cornerstone starting quarterback they want to build around in Maye and Milton’s departure was signaled when the Patriots signed Dobbs to a two-year, $8 million deal to be the backup.
Instead of having an upset Milton around the team — given his standing on the quarterback depth chart — when New England’s offseason program began last week, the Patriots decided to try to cash in on Milton’s value despite him playing in just one game as a rookie. Milton did impress in that outing, though, completing 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown while also running for a score against the backups of the Buffalo Bills.
The return in the trade was somewhat underwhelming as the Patriots also parted with a 2025 seventh-round pick.
But if they can hit on the late-round draft choice then trading away Milton will look like a shrewd move from the Patriots.