Cowboys Waive Joe Milton, Put 2023 No. 14 Pick Broderick Jones in RT Battle

Q: Did guaranteed money secretly force Dallas to keep Sam Howell over a rapidly improving Joe Milton?

No. The evidence suggests Sam Howell’s guaranteed money was a factor, but not a hidden or decisive one by itself. Dallas had already committed $2.5 million guaranteed to Howell on a one-year deal, and multiple reports noted that cutting him would not have erased that cost. That clearly gave Howell an economic edge in a close competition, especially for a team that “doesn’t make it a habit” of eating guaranteed money on a free-agent backup. But the reporting does not show that money alone forced the Cowboys’ hand. Football reasons also strongly favored Howell. He has 18 NFL starts, far more regular-season experience than Joe Milton, who has appeared in only a handful of games and has never started. For a team built to contend with Dak Prescott, that experience matters. Schottenheimer repeatedly described the competition as tight, with Howell slightly ahead at times in camp, and Howell finished the preseason well. Milton’s improvement was real. Coaches praised his command of the offense, better touch, improved reads, and confidence, and his preseason numbers were excellent. But Dallas also viewed him as less proven in a complex system and still waiver-eligible, which gave the club at least some chance to keep him in the organization via the practice squad. So the fairest reading is that guaranteed money helped protect Howell in a neck-and-neck battle, but Dallas also preferred his experience and roster flexibility made Milton the easier player to expose to waivers.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 31

Dallas cut backup quarterback Joe Milton on Monday and said newly acquired Broderick Jones will compete with Terence Steele for the starting right tackle job.
The waiver clears a roster spot for running back Emari Demercado and effectively leaves Sam Howell as Dak Prescott's No. 2 after Howell rallied Dallas from 15 points down in the preseason finale.
Jones arrived Saturday from Pittsburgh in a pick-swap deal involving Dallas' 2027 third- and sixth-rounders, with the Cowboys receiving a fourth-round pick back.
Steele, 29, has started all 17 games in each of the past three seasons, but uneven recent play and a modest camp opened the door for Jones despite the newcomer returning from 2025 neck fusion surgery.