The Philadelphia Eagles will start quarterback Joe Milton in their Week 9 matchup against the NFC East-leading New York Giants, replacing Tanner McKee.
Milton becomes the third starting quarterback for the Eagles this season after Jalen Hurts was placed on injured reserve and McKee lost all three of his starts. The Eagles acquired Milton from the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad on October 16, a day before Hurts went on IR.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni praised Milton's work ethic and progression. "I think he's worked really hard," Sirianni said. "Him and [quarterbacks coach] Parks [Frazier] have spent a ton of time together, getting him caught up to speed. I know the developmental periods; those always help to be able to run our plays. But he works extremely hard. He is always in the building, doing the extra things. I like his progression."
Milton could reintroduce the deep ball to the Eagles' offense. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has compared Milton's arm strength to that of Hall of Famer Brett Favre, though he also expressed reservations about Milton's accuracy and touch. Those concerns led to Sam Howell winning the Dallas backup job, leaving Milton as the Cowboys' third-string quarterback on the practice squad.
Dallas originally acquired Milton, a 2024 sixth-round pick, in an April 2025 trade with the New England Patriots. He served as Dak Prescott's backup during the 2025 season. In the preseason, Milton showed improvement, completing 29 of 43 passes (67.4%) for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, posting a 118.2 passer rating across three exhibition games.
Schottenheimer highlighted Milton's development during training camp. "I'm going to say that the upside, I'm not going to say you put him into a box of what he could be, but the arm talent's real," he said. "I think we've talked a lot in here about the touch and how he's developed the touch. I do know that he did a much better job with our system. This is what guys that come from that spread system [in college] have to deal with in terms of the learning curve of coming in and having to learn how to huddle, call a play in the huddle and make different decisions. ... I think about that. ... So again, I think Joe's going to be a terrific player in this league. I'm not going to say in what regard, but like I said, it was a very tough decision."
