Report: The Patriots Traded Joe Milton Because He Thought He Should've Been Competing With Drake Maye for the Starting QB Job
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.Well this explains a lot. Why a rookie who was drafted 193rd and flashed this kind of athleticism in a quarterback-starved league:
… would get traded for the 171st pick. With the 217th pick thrown in, no less. Meaning the Patriots gave Joe Milton away just to move up 46 spots.
Even if we're honest with ourselves and concede we always tend to overrate our own backup QBs (the outrage over Belichick "only" getting 2nd rounders for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017 and Matt Cassel in 2009 being two prime examples), that doesn't seem like much of a return on investment for Milton. And why the sense of urgency to move a guy with his freakish arm talent and possibly unlimited potential?
But just as Pats fans were taking to social media to do the "Make it make sense" thing, someone made it make a whole hell of a lot of sense:
Source - What was Mike Vrabel thinking?
Based on intel gathered from sources during the week, Milton fancied himself a starter. He didn’t see himself being given a legitimate chance to compete with Drake Maye.
He also believed he was good enough to give Maye a run, if not overtake him for the top job.
If that chance didn’t exist, Milton preferred being elsewhere, somewhere he had a better chance to compete for the starter’s job. …
Milton, who at 25 is three years older than the Patriots starter, made it clear behind the scenes he no longer wanted to be sitting behind Maye. For Vrabel, who is trying to establish a culture, and trying to set the tone for what’s to come, that attitude didn’t fly.
And in case you want to dismiss the accuracy of the report, first consider that Vrabel always seems to single out Karen Guregian for extra attention like a teacher calling on their best student:
So much so I wouldn't be at all surprised if Vrabel is the source on this one. To let it be known his team isn't just giving away high-ceiling football talent for nothing unless they have a compelling reason. And Milton gave them one.
Look, it's good on a certain level to have Milton's attitude. You want a backup QB to have self-confidence. No one wants the guy who's always just one trip to the blue tent from going under center to be moping around doing the Sad Charlie Brown walk:
Advertisement
It's bad for morale.
But there's a difference between confidence and over exuberance. It's great if that guy approaches every day like he could be the starter. If he prepares like he's going to be the starter. Studies like he's going to be the starter. Practices like he's going to be the starter. It's when he believes he should be the starter that he's crossed the Rubicon and has to be disposed of for the sake of everybody.
I mean, this is the Dunning-Kruger Effect done to perfection. A "cognitive bias where people with low ability, knowledge, or expertise in a particular area tend to overestimate their competence." Essentially Milton seems to be buying into his own hype, and getting way ahead of himself.
Sure, the thing where a 6th round quarterback sits as a rookie before becoming a starter in Year 2 worked here rather well that one time. But Milton thinking he earned a shot to compete with Drake Maye for QB1 job based on what he did against the Bills in the biggest tank battle since Kursk is just laughable. And with the whole team reporting for duty Monday, it was best to just remove him from the team before his delusions of grandeur affect the rest of the roster.
Believing in yourself is fine. It's also dandy. But it's also important to know your place. Or as Dirty Harry put it so perfectly:
Best of luck to Joe Milton. I hope someday he lives up to his opinion of himself. I sincerely do. I'm just glad it's not going to happen here.