Just like the Chicago Bears honored Justin Fields’ preferred landing spot in 2024, the New England Patriots did the same for Joe Milton—this time at the expense of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Black and Gold faithful are well aware that the Bears left trade capital on the table to send Fields to Pittsburgh—where he wanted to play.

The Steel City now finds itself on the wrong side of this player-first mentality in trade negotiations, as it was reported by insider Jordan Schultz that the Steelers were among the teams interested in acquiring Milton. However, the Patriots accepted less draft capital—a fifth-round pick—to send him to his preferred 2025 destination: the Dallas Cowboys.

A hilarious takeaway from this trade is that yet another player preferred to play anywhere but the Pittsburgh Steelers. And who could blame Milton, as head coach Mike Tomlin has proven unable to develop a quarterback on his own.

My understanding is since Joe Milton became available at the start of the offseason, teams that showed interest included the Raiders, Eagles, Giants, Steelers and the Cowboys.

The #Patriots had a better offer for Milton but chose to send him where he wanted out of respect for… https://t.co/kNDFPA4yem pic.twitter.com/iHKhmhRsCv

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 3, 2025