Cowboys waive backup QB Joe Milton and say tackle Broderick Jones will compete to start

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys waived backup quarterback Joe Milton on Monday while saying the newly acquired Broderick Jones will compete with Terence Steele to start at right tackle.

The move with Milton presumably means Sam Howell has won the No. 2 job behind Dak Prescott, a spot that Milton held last season. The Cowboys could bring Milton back on the practice squad.

Before the team announced the move, coach Brian Schottenheimer said the competition between Milton and Howell was still open. The Milton move was to clear a spot for running back Emari Demercado, who was claimed on waivers from Kansas City.

The Cowboys got Jones in a trade with Pittsburgh on Saturday, sending picks in the third and sixth rounds of next year’s draft while getting a fourth-rounder in return.

Steele emerged as an undrafted free agent six years ago but has struggled in recent years.

Schottenheimer called third-year left tackle Tyler Guyton to tell him the move didn’t affect Dallas’ 2024 first-round pick. Schottenheimer made the same call to Steele — with a different message.

“We’re not going to move Broderick around,” Schottenheimer said. “As you guys can imagine, Terence Steele was the ultimate pro, ‘Schotty, I get it. I appreciate the phone call. You didn’t have to make the phone call.’ I said, ‘I did because I respect you that much as a teammate and a player.’ So Broderick will be competing with Terence to be the starting right tackle of this football team.”

Jones was the 14th overall pick out of Georgia in the 2023 draft. He started 38 of the 45 games he played in three seasons with the Steelers.

Jones missed the final six games last season after an awkward hit to his neck on Nov. 23 against Chicago. The 25-year-old went on injured reserve and had season-ending fusion surgery that required a lengthy rehab.

“There’s some fundamental things that we’re excited that we feel like we can kind of tighten up,” Schottenheimer said. “I know he’s really excited to be here. Sometimes a change of scenery is a good thing.”

Steele was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal 2020 pandemic season for Dallas. Undrafted out of Texas Tech, he started 14 of 16 games as a rookie. He has started all 17 games each of the past three years.

Jones said the change could do him some good, and he was encouraged by Schottenheimer saying right away that the club didn’t plan to move him around.

“I’m just pumped up,” Jones said. “He made it clear where he wants me. So I’ve got to do my part and show up.”

The 29-year-old Steele’s performance has been spotty in recent seasons and didn’t improve much in training camp this year, leading to the trade.

Milton was efficient in the first two preseason games but not quite as sharp as the starter in the preseason finale, a 27-24 loss to New Orleans. Howell erased a 15-point deficit by throwing a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes and running for a tying 2-point conversion.

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