The Miami Dolphins don't exactly have a ton of flexibility this offseason as they embark upon a massive rebuild. Many of the constraints new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan is dealing with stem from Tua Tagovailoa's albatross of a contract.
Given Sullivan's long stint in the Packers front office, he's adept at finding talent and developing it through the draft. Unfortunately, a viable Tua successor isn't available in this rookie class.
But since Miami has plenty of draft capital to work with, if a Green Bay reunion with Malik Willis is out of the Fins' price range, perhaps a trade for an ex-rival will prove to be Sullivan's epic QB solution.
Cowboys backup QB & Patriots draft pick could be the man Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan hitches his wagon to
Joe Milton III had to wait until the sixth round and the 184th pick for his name to be called by the reigning AFC champion New England Patriots back in 2024. Unfortunately for Milton, his path to significant playing time was obstructed by two capable field generals. No Tom Brady-esque ascent from sixth-round obscurity to perennial All-Pro.
But it's not like there's any shame in Milton getting traded after only one season in Foxborough. The Pats evidently saw what they had in No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye. He's in the running for MVP in Year 2 — and playing in the Super Bowl!
Meanwhile, Jacoby Brissett ended this season as Arizona's QB1 and was ahead of Milton on the depth chart in New England before then. Not an easy road to begin Milton's pro career.
Interestingly enough, though, despite moving on to back up Dak Prescott in Dallas, Milton revealed in a WEEI interview that he felt a type of way about how the Pats treated him.
Referring to his rookie year, the rocket-armed 25-year-old ranted about how head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto GM Eliot Wolf witnessed him ball out in practice, yet he still couldn't earn a promotion once Maye eclipsed Brissett as the starter:
"I'm running over y'all defense. I'm throwing the ball of your head. It got to the point at the Patriots where I threw a deep ball to my left over Gonzo. And while the ball was in the air, I turned around, just looking at Mayo. Eliot was right there. They couldn't do nothing but just look at the ball. The ball got completed and scored. Scout team receiver scored. And they just shook their head."
"When you move Drake up to start, what should Jacoby now do? [...] But you don't do that. You just keep him at the 2 because he's a vet. But he's not taking reps. Me and Drake are the only ones practicing...but he's still the 2. I mean, I just felt disrespected."
"I felt DISRESPECTED"@Qbjayy7 explains what REALLY happened during his time with the Patriots 😳 👀 pic.twitter.com/csc6My5UcL
— WEEI (@WEEI) February 3, 2026
Milton finally got his shot to start in the regular-season finale against mostly Buffalo Bills backups. Regardless of the competition level, he marched onto an NFL field and completed 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a TD, running for another TD as well.
Any way you slice it, that's impressive for somebody's first NFL start. Mind you, that was with a far worse supporting cast than the crew Maye was working with in 2025, too.
With two years remaining on his rookie contract and the evident burning desire Milton has to start, Miami's brass would be foolish not to put a call into Jerry Jones. We know the Cowboys owner loves to make a splash with massive player transactions. It's not like Dak is giving up his starting spot to Milton any time soon.
Shoot, if the Dolphins wanted to, they could kick in Texas native Quinn Ewers as part of a trade package. Sullivan has three third-round picks to work with. One of those, plus Ewers, should be plenty to acquire Milton via trade.
Between his 6'5", 246-pound frame, dynamic running ability, and possession of perhaps the very strongest arm in the entire league, Joe Milton is a downright tantalizing QB. He has legit All-Pro caliber tools. Just needs some more starting experience to develop them.
Don't get me wrong. Willis is still Miami's ideal QB target this offseason. Then again, Milton has all the upside to be just as good or better than Willis at, say, $25 million cheaper per year through 2027?