The Patriots trading Joe Milton III was no shocker, but the move also wasn’t easily explained.
For starters, the timing of New England’s swap with the Dallas Cowboys made many scratch their heads. There also was a wide array of reporting about why exactly the Patriots were so motivated to move on from a talented quarterback on an extremely team-friendly deal.
NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry took a stab at answering the latter Monday on “Arbella Early Edition.”
“Josh Dobbs and Joe Milton weren’t necessarily fighting for a roster spot,” Perry said, as transcribed by NBCSB. “Maybe at the end of training camp we would be saying that, but you could keep both. So to frame it as, ‘Well, it’s better to have the mentor than the younger player,’ that might be true — and I think it is true — but you don’t have to cut the other guy before the offseason program even starts.
“So to me, the smoking gun is the timing of this, and the swiftness and just the firmness of the decision, which is, ‘We’re just not gonna deal with people walking around talking about themselves like they should be the starting quarterback when we have a young player that we believe in.’ That, to me, is really more the issue.”
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Mike Vrabel has stressed the importance of establishing a good culture since arriving at One Patriot Place. That’s not to say Milton would be a bad apple this season, but Vrabel and company might have determined the sophomore signal-caller wasn’t a great fit for the dynamic they were trying to create.
Regardless, all parties involved appear pleased with how things shook out. Drake Maye now has a far more experienced backup who can serve as a mentor, while Milton has a far more advantageous opportunity in front of him with America’s Team.
Featured image via Peter Casey/Imagn Images
