Reason Patriots traded promising young QB revealed

The New England Patriots made a somewhat head-scratching decision to trade Joe Milton III earlier this week, but it sounds like the promising young backup QB may have wanted a fresh start.

The Patriots traded Milton and a seventh-round draft pick to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth-round pick on Thursday. With the return being so low, many wondered why New England would bother making the move less than a year after it drafted Milton.

According to a report from Karen Guregian of MassLive, Milton believes he can be a starting quarterback in the NFL. The former Tennessee Volunteer even felt he was good enough to overtake Drake Maye for the starting job in New England.

Since the Patriots are fully committed to Maye, Milton preferred to play for another team. While he has no path to a starting job in Dallas without Dak Prescott getting injured, Milton has said his mother is a lifelong Cowboys fan, and it has always been a "dream" of his to play for the team.

The Patriots drafted Milton in the sixth round last year, so it’s not as if other teams were high on him. Milton appeared in just one game last season, but he managed to showcase his impressive physical skills in the limited opportunity. He went 22-of-29 for 241 yards with a touchdown in the Week 17 win against a Buffalo Bills team that was largely playing backups.

Milton has plenty of upside, which is why it was so surprising that the Patriots essentially gave him away for free. The move now makes a lot more sense as head coach Mike Vrabel tries to establish a new culture in New England.