Joe Milton III landing spots: Browns, Steelers among five logical destinations for Patriots quarterback

The QB carousel is in full motion. Already, we’ve seen signal-callers like Sam Darnold (Seahawks) and Geno Smith (Raiders) find new homes in the NFL, while even Matthew Stafford flirted with the possibility of leaving L.A. before reuniting with the Rams. And we’re still spinning. The league is waiting with bated breath for a decision from Aaron Rodgers on his playing future. Once he decides to either sign with a team or retire, that should set off a chain reaction where more QB dominos fall, including with Russell Wilson. 

While Rodgers, Wilson, and — to a lesser extent — the NFL Draft prospects have dominated the offseason headlines on the quarterback front, there is also another name that could enter the frenzy: Joe Milton III. 

The New England Patriots selected Milton in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft but he did impress in his brief showing last season. Milton got the start in Week 18 and completed 22 of his 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 16 yards and another score en route to New England’s 23-16 win over Buffalo. 

That performance has seemingly garnered some buzz for Milton on the trade market. Recently, the Boston Globe reported that there is a growing sentiment that the Patriots are entertaining trade offers for Milton. Of course, he is expendable for the Patriots due to the presence of Drake Maye, and the Patriots also signed veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who could serve as the primary backup. 

With that in mind, let’s identify a handful of teams that could find themselves in the Milton market. 

If the Browns decide against taking a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft with the No. 2 overall pick and opt for the likes of pass rusher Abdul Carter or receiver/corner Travis Hunter, a run at Milton could make some sense. Given his lack of experience, Milton shouldn’t be looked at as a bonafide starter for any of these potential trade partners, but is a worthwhile lottery ticket. That’s especially true for a team like the Browns. 

Cleveland is currently suffocated by the monster contract of Deshaun Watson, who is expected to miss the 2025 season due to another Achilles injury. They did bring in Kenny Pickett via trade, but that shouldn’t preclude them from continuing to search for a long-term option at QB. With Milton, they’d get a player with eye-popping arm talent on the cheap. With him being a former sixth-round pick, Milton has cap hits of less than $1.25 million in each of the next three seasons. That should be widely attractive to Cleveland given Watson has dead cap charges of well over $100,000 million over the next two years. 

It’s also worth noting Milton’s college roots, playing at the University of Tennessee for three seasons. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam not only went to Tennessee but is still involved with the university so he should be quite familiar with Milton. 

Let’s stick in the AFC North, shall we? The Pittsburgh Steelers are another team currently on the hunt for a QB and have primarily been circling Aaron Rodgers. But what if Rodgers decides to go in a different direction? In theory, they could go back to Russell Wilson, who started 11 games for them last season. That said, Wilson could sign with another team at any given moment as well. That leaves them with not a ton of options, especially considering they pick at No. 21 overall at this year’s draft. Even if they added another veteran to the room, Milton could be a low-risk acquisition to come in and compete for the starting job over the summer. Given his ability to throw the football a country mile, he’d be fascinating to see with DK Metcalf and George Pickens at his disposal. 

The Giants are another QB-needy team. They were reportedly deep in discussions about possibly acquiring Matthew Stafford before he decided to stay with the Rams and are also one of the teams interested in adding Rodgers. They’ve also hosted Russell Wilson on a free-agent visit. Judging by the veteran QBs they’ve had their eye on, Milton may not fit the profile of what they want at the current moment. Still, he’s an option to consider. There is a world where Rodgers retires and Wilson heads back to Pittsburgh, leaving them with little options at the position. Even at the NFL Draft, a quarterback worthy of the No. 3 overall pick isn’t a slam dunk to be available to them with the Titans and Browns — two teams that could use a quarterback — ahead of them. With all that in mind, Milton is at least an option with some upside that could be available at a relatively low cost for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. 

Las Vegas Raiders

It would be WILD to see the Patriots call up their old pal Tom Brady and coordinate a trade that gives the Raiders a quarterback, but this makes sense for Las Vegas even after the trade for Geno Smith. He is currently only signed through the 2025 season, but there is a logical school of thought that the team will extend him in some capacity. However, Smith is still 34 years old and will turn 35 in the middle of next season. Trading for Milton gives them an opportunity to land a young developmental quarterback to work behind Smith over the next few years before handing him the keys to the offense, if all goes according to plan. 

Los Angeles Rams

Let’s call this the dark horse of the group. As we’ve seen earlier this offseason, it appears like the Matthew Stafford era is going year-to-year at this point. They do have former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett — a 2023 fourth-round pick — on the roster, but his presence shouldn’t stop Les Snead from looking at other options to develop at the position like Milton. Pairing Milton’s talent with Sean McVay is a fascinating proposition, especially if they have some runway to mold him behind the scenes over the next few seasons. It’s also worth mentioning that L.A. does have some built-in knowledge of Milton thanks to senior offensive assistant Alex Van Pelt, who served as New England’s offensive coordinator last year.