The Philadelphia Eagles needed a quarterback. They looked at the roster of the team they play twice a year and took one.
Philadelphia signed Joe Milton off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad on Friday and put him directly on the 53-man roster, a day after ruling Jalen Hurts out indefinitely. Jordan Schultz reported it first, and the league’s other national reporters confirmed it within the hour.
Dallas could not stop it. A practice squad player is available to any team willing to put him on the active roster, which is exactly the trade-off the rule is built on. The Cowboys had Milton on the cheap and lost him for nothing.
Schottenheimer took it well, publicly
Brian Schottenheimer was asked about it Friday and gave the gracious answer.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for Joe. They recognize this is a young man with incredible talent. I think the world of Joe, so I’m sad to see him go. I hope he gets every opportunity,” the Cowboys head coach said.
Fine. He is also now down to two quarterbacks heading into a Sunday night game at Green Bay, and the team that took his third one is 2-3 and plays Dallas twice before the Week 10 bye.
Who Milton actually is
Milton is 26, 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds, a sixth-round pick by New England in 2024 who was traded to Dallas in a 2025 pick swap, waived at final cuts in August and re-signed to the practice squad.
He has never started an NFL game. In five appearances across 112 offensive snaps he is 37-of-53 for 424 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, a 90.4 passer rating, plus 66 rushing yards and a rushing score. He is known mostly for arm strength.
Because he was signed off another team’s practice squad, he has to stay on Philadelphia’s active roster for at least three games.
The Eagles’ quarterback room is now strange
Tanner McKee starts Sunday against Carolina. McKee has six appearances and two starts, 54-of-88 for 597 yards with five touchdowns, one interception and a 95.7 rating. Behind him are Milton and rookie fifth-rounder Cole Payton. Hurts is out indefinitely with a superficial blood clot and the team has offered no timeline.
Philadelphia has not said whether Milton or Payton is the No. 2 on Sunday. Milton’s contract terms were not disclosed. Both McKee and Milton are free agents in March, so the Eagles are auditioning two of their three quarterbacks for next year while trying to save this one.
The move also probably ends any Andy Dalton reunion. Philadelphia released Dalton earlier this month and he has reportedly been weighing offers since.
The Eagles are 2-3 and host the Panthers at 1 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field, then play all three NFC East rivals before the bye. Howie Roseman’s answer to losing his starting quarterback was to take a backup from a division rival for free. Say what you want about the ceiling of that backup. It cost nothing and it hurt Dallas on the way through.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.