Joe Milton III’s brief Patriots tenure came to a close Thursday morning.

New England reportedly traded Milton and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to Dallas in exchange for 2025 fifth-rounder. The Cowboys gained a new backup for Dak Prescott after cutting ties with Cooper Rush and Trey Lance, while the rebuilding Patriots gained some all-important draft capital.

Jerry Jones and company received an “A-” grade from ESPN’s Seth Walder for the swap, as they didn’t give up much to acquire a quarterback with rare tools and a very team-friendly contract. Mike Vrabel’s side, meanwhile, garnered a “C-” mark.

“If the Patriots were going to move on from Milton, I thought they would get more than this,” Walder wrote. “He was a sixth-round pick a year ago and — even with all the caveats of the circumstances of his one game — surely his stock has gone up since then, right? Instead, they got back only close to what they paid for him. Several teams will surely use a fifth- or sixth-round pick on shaky QB prospects later this month.”

Walder continued: “For New England, perhaps new coach Mike Vrabel felt Milton’s performance was a mirage and preferred the higher floor of the recently signed Joshua Dobbs as his backup option. Even if that’s true, I still would have expected them to get a little more value for Milton. And in the absence of that, I’d rather roll the dice on him developing further.”

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People who worked with Milton in his rookie season reportedly didn’t view the Tennessee product as an ideal backup for Drake Maye, the unquestioned franchise quarterback in Foxboro, Mass. Thus, the Patriots reportedly gave Milton permission to seek a trade this offseason, and the Cowboys clearly view the big-armed signal-caller as a worthwhile project.

Still, it’s not difficult to argue New England might have pulled the trigger too early on a Milton trade.

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