There is undeniably reason for Dallas Cowboys fans to be excited about having Joe Milton as the backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott this season. After Jerry Jones sent a fifth-round pick to New England for Milton and a seventh-round pick back in April following the quarterback's stellar Week 18 start for the Patriots last season, the upside is real. And all reports from training camp have furthered that optimism. And yet, Milton will make his Cowboys debut in the preseason under an immense amount of pressure thanks to Trey Lance.
Lance, of course, was on the Cowboys last season after another backup quarterback trade that Jones orchestrated. That trade, however, was graded as a complete failure on Dallas' part. Lance played in only four games for the Cowboys, including one start in a lost 2024 season, to less-than-middling results. That was even true in the preseason, when Lance played in the three games, but threw two touchdowns to five interceptions while taking six sacks in his action.
Now, though, the former third-overall pick is on the Los Angeles Chargers and made his debut there in the Hall of Fame Game. And it couldn't have looked more different than his time in Dallas. Lance completed 13-of-20 throws for 120 yards and two touchdown while adding eight rushing yards to help lead the Chargers to a blowout win over the Lions, 34-7. While Lance isn't going to take Justin Herbert's job, it's hard not to wonder if maybe the Cowboys were the problem last year.
And that's where the heat starts to get turned up on Milton.
Joe Milton now shockingly has to live up to Trey Lance in Cowboys debut
The sample size with Milton is small. He threw only 30 attempts in last year's preseason with the Patriots, completely only 11 of those attempts for 152 yards and one touchdown, though without an interception. But then came Week 18 in New England when he got a spot start to finish the season and shined. He not only completed 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, but he also rushed for 16 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Bills. The only blemish was a lost fumble.
That apparently caught the Cowboys' attention enough to spark the trade. But the failures of Dallas when it came to getting anything meaningful from Lance in the way of on-field contributions now unfairly put all of that pressure on the newcomer Milton.
Jones ostensibly wasted draft capital to acquire Lance based on how that deal turned out. Subsequently, Cowboys fans are watching keenly with Milton to see if that wasn't the case with another quarterback trade. Based on Week 18, one would have to assume it wasn't. But fans only care about what happens on the field when Milton has a star on the side of his helmet.
At the same time, this is obviously not a fair amount of heat to put on Milton debuting with his new team, especially in the preseason. For a player who was pegged as uber-talented but ultimately still unrefined coming out of college, there are going to be ups and downs with special moments combined with head-scratching plays. So to ask him to be better than his backup predecessor is a tough spot to put him in immediately.
Yet, that's ultimately the situation at hand. Despite the nuances always involved with player moment, it's simply much easier to say that Jerry Jones traded for Lance and it was a disaster, so fans are now all watching to see if Milton is the same thing. And the fact that Lance has now shown flashes with a new team only amplifies that tenfold.
But hey, who's to say Joe Milton doesn't just thrive under that pressure and live up to the hype? Here's to hoping!