There was a lot of hype around Joe Milton during his brief time in New England.

The quarterback made only start in 2024 for the Patriots but showed promise against the Buffalo Bills, showcasing his impressive arm talent and athleticism.

But it was the only chance he got. The Patriots traded Milton to the Dallas Cowboys in April 2025.

Milton joined WEEI on Radio Row on Monday to discuss what went wrong while with the Patriots.

“How I play in the game is how I practice. Like my shoelaces not tired. I’m running over y’ all defense. I’m throwing the ball over your head,” he said. “It got to the point at the Patriots, I’ll be honest, I got to the point where I threw a deep ball to my left over (Christian Gonzalez). And while the ball was in the air, I turned around, just looking at (Jerod) Mayo, Eliot (Wolf) was right there, and they couldn’t do nothing but just look at the ball. The ball got completed. He scored. And they just shook their heads.”

Milton was the emergency third quarterback behind Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett in 2024. New England struggled with the veteran under center and Maye took over as the starter in Week 6. But Brissett, not Milton, was the backup despite having strong practices and Brissett’s shortcomings.

“I think it wold have been different if when Jacoby was a starter, Drake was the backup. I was the emergency quarterback,” Milton said. “When you move Drake up to start, what should Jacoby now do? You keep him at the two because he’s a vet, but he’s not taking reps. It’s just me and Drake, the only ones practicing, but he’s still the two. I just felt disrespected.”

Milton confirmed he went to his agency and said he wanted to leave New England. He didn’t want to feel like he was begging for an opportunity to play, and felt like he was a “walk-on.”

“I felt like I didn’t get better,” Milton said.

Regardless of his position with the team, Milton felt the Patriots did a “great job” at letting him know what was going on when it came to plays.

While Milton said the Patriots wanted him to be “in the best situation possible” for his development — something he appreciates — he wanted a better opportunity for himself.

Milton got a fresh start behind Dak Prescott in Dallas. He appeared in four games, completed 62.5% of his passes for 183 yards with a touchdown and had two interceptions.

Sources told MassLive’s Karen Guregian that Milton saw himself as a starter and didn’t believe he had a legitimate shot at being one in New England with Maye at the helm.

He essentially is in the same spot with the Cowboys.

The 25-year-old added he feels like he’s in a “great situation” in Dallas.

Milton’s role with Dallas in 2026 is unclear. The Cowboys signed Will Grier for depth at the position, and could compete with Milton for the backup job this summer.