Joe Milton III is set for his first start with the Philadelphia Eagles, with ESPN’s Mike Garafolo and Adam Schefter reporting Wednesday afternoon that he’ll be under center Sunday against the New York Giants. Philadelphia is moving on from Tanner McKee after three starts and turning to the newly acquired quarterback.
The change comes during a rough stretch for the Eagles, who are 2-6 and riding a six-game losing streak. Jalen Hurts was placed on IR on Oct. 17 after being diagnosed with blood clots in the lungs, and soon after that news broke, the Eagles signed Milton off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.
Milton’s path to this opportunity has moved quickly. He spent the offseason in a quarterback battle with free agent signee Sam Howell, but lost out on the job as Dak Prescott’s backup in Dallas.
The Cowboys waived him before the season, then brought him back to the practice squad after he cleared waivers. He never appeared on Dallas’ active roster this year.
Originally drafted by the Patriots, Milton was traded to Dallas ahead of the 2025 season. He backed up Prescott last year and saw only limited action outside of a few garbage-time appearances. A lot of people expected him to remain the No. 2 quarterback in Dallas this season, but the Cowboys changed course by bringing in Howell.
Milton’s preseason work gave Dallas a mixed but encouraging look. He played well in his first two preseason games before a less impressive final outing, though the overall trend was upward.
In three preseason games for the Cowboys, he threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns while completing 67.4% of his passes. He came off the bench in the opener and started the final two games.
Across two seasons, Milton has appeared in five games for the Patriots and Cowboys. He has 424 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 69.8% passing.
Milton and the Eagles will face the Giants on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox.
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