Joe Milton injury update: Cowboys QB suffers elbow injury, leaves game vs. Rams

Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton left Saturday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams with an apparent elbow injury. Milton appeared to suffer the injury during a play with 5:25 to go in the fourth quarter in which he was sandwiched in between two tacklers.

He took a hit to his left side and then came out as Will Grier replaced him. Milton attempted to throw the ball on the sidelines, but it was later reported that he is done for the day.

Milton ended his evening 17-of-29 passing for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It’s unclear whether him not returning the game was simply precautionary or not, but it looked on the sidelines like he wanted to go back in and tried his best to.

Grier looked good in his relief of Milton, leading the Cowboys on a touchdown drive that he capped off with a three-yard run into the end zone. He also went 2-of-3 passing for 14 yards.

Milton is in his first season with the Cowboys after being traded from the New England Patriots this offseason. He only played in one game for the Patriots last year in his rookie season after starter Drake Maye left due to injury. Milton finished 22-of-29 passing for 241 yards and a touchdown in that Jan. 5 matchup against the Bills.

Milton played college football at Tennessee, where he was a starter during the 2023 season as a senior. He enters this year competing with Grier to be the backup to Dak Prescott on the depth chart.

We’ll have to wait for further news this week to see how serious the injury to Joe Milton is. The Cowboys’ next preseason game is on Aug. 16 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Joe Milton credits Dak Prescott for help, calls out New England Patriots

At times, tension between a veteran and second-year guy can be there. But according to Milton, that is not the case.

Milton spoke on how good a leader Prescott has been early in Cowboys training camp on Thursday. Turns out, the franchise QB is going out of his way to help Milton in certain situations. A positive for fans in Dallas to hear ahead of the season.

“Dak is a great leader,” Milton said via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “… All respect to him. He literally goes out of his way to help me.”

The Cowboys liked what they saw and decided to pull the trigger on a trade. Cooper Rush was on his way out of Dallas, the long-time backup. Milton was somebody who could come in, learn under Prescott, and potentially get a fresh start. Maybe something he needed after a weird situation in New England.

“I’ve been in another building. I know how that goes,” Milton said of being a young quarterback. “It’s just very different over here.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.