Joe Milton isn’t having any Super Bowl-sized regrets.
The ex-Patriots backup explained that he felt “disrespected” by the organization, led by then-coach Jerod Mayo, over how it handled his status on the depth chart during the 2024 season.
Milton, whom the Patriots traded to the Cowboys before the 2025 season, did not appreciate that Jacoby Brissett remained ahead of him on the depth chart after Drake Maye supplanted the veteran last year.
“I think it would’ve been different if when Jacoby was the starter, Drake was the backup, I was the emergency quarterback,” Brissett told WEEI on Tuesday.
“When you move Drake up to start, what should Jacoby now do? He got his job took, right? But you don’t do that. You keep him at the (No. 2) because he’s a vet when he’s not taking reps, it’s just me and Drake the only one practicing, but he’s still the (No. 2), I just felt disrespected.”
The Patriots drafted Milton in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, five rounds after they selected Maye with the No. 3 pick.
Those two entered camp competing for the starting job with Brissett, who entered the 2024 season with eight seasons under his belt.
Brissett started the first five games before Maye took control of the job in Week 6 and the Patriots have not looked back, reaching the Super Bowl this year.
Milton only appeared in one game that year, starting a 23-16 win over the Bills in Week 17 that actually cost New England the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
He admitted that the bad blood festered during the year.
“It got to the point at the Patriots, I’ll be honest, where I threw a deep ball to my left over (star cornerback Christian Gonzalez) and while the ball was in the air I turned around and was just looking at Mayo,” Milton said while describing a scene from practice.
“(Patriots executive vice president of player personnel) Eliot (Wolf) was right there and they couldn’t do nothing but just look at the ball, the ball got completed, he scores, scout team receiver scored and they just shook their head. It got to the point, right.”
New England, under new coach Mike Vrabel, shipped Milton and a seventh-round pick to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick in April and his demeanor reportedly played a role.
NFL insider Greg Bedard reported at the time that Milton was “not a good dude.”
Another report indicated that Milton wanted out if the Patriots would not let him truly challenge to be the team’s starting quarterback.
Milton landed with a team with an established quarterback in Dak Prescott, and he played in just four games, starting zero and attempted just 24 passes.