Ever heard about a heck of a blunder made by multi-billion-dollar franchises? Well, here we are. A couple of hours ago, Mike Vrabel‘s Patriots traded their backup QB, Joe Milton, and it has made a crash landing with fans. The Cowboys are happy because they know what they’ve got, even after trading 5th-round picks. But before we move on to see how fans have bashed the Patriots for trading him, let’s have some context.

The Cowboys’ EVP, Stephen Jones, was already searching for a beast—and he got one. Jones once said, “I think we look at the full package; you’re probably not going to get all things just right or exactly what you want. But at the same time, you want to get the very best guy.” And they got it. And this is what has fans in New England fuming. Fans are already calling it a terrible trade. The Patriots were just receiving praise from fans after the Stefon Diggs trade, but they are not tolerating Joe Milton’s trade.

The Patriots supposedly even had a better offer for the QB, but “chose to send him where he wanted out of respect for him,” per reporter Jordan Schultz. Showing such consideration for a young QB who hasn’t exactly achieved much for the franchise saw some fans raise their eyebrows.

In terms of finances; Joe’s average annual salary was just $1,050,829. The rookie had made a four-year, $4,203,316 deal in 2024, which was expected to last until 2027. But that’s gone now. And even worse, the Patriots would have only had to pay $960,000 as a base salary for Joe Milton. But they went in a different direction. In a blockbuster trade, Mike Vrabel traded Drake Maye’s backup.

It was also said that Milton had been struggling while competing for the QB2 position with Josh Dobbs. Another reason for the trade was his fanatical relationship with the Cowboys. After the trade, Joe Milton, per Schultz, said, “My family grew up a Cowboys fan. My mom always had a Cowboys shirt on. She always talked about them. Living in Texas has always been a longtime dream of mine. And now I’m with them.” Now, he will be a backup for Dak Prescott, who is recovering from an injury.

Milton played only one year in New England after the Patriots drafted him as the 193rd pick in the 6th round of the 2024 NFL draft. Though the drafted QB played only one game last season, he was great in it. It was January 5, 2025, when the Patriots were scheduled to go head-to-head against the Bills and Joe Milton got an opportunity to show his worth.

Against the Bills, he completed 22 out of 29 passes, with a 75.9% completion rate, and scored one touchdown. He neither threw any interceptions in the game nor was he sacked even once. And boy, that’s crazy stuff. This is perhaps another reason why Patriots fans took jabs at Mike Vrabel and company. Let’s check out what fans are saying about the trade.

Fans fuming over Mike Vrabel’s trade decision involving Joe Milton

One of the fans on X seemed confused and couldn’t process how this trade would benefit the Patriots’ legend or the franchise. That fan’s comment was, “Sorry, but how’s that in the best interest of the team?” Perhaps there’s a method to the madness. The Pats sent Milton and a seventh-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. We will see how the Patriots move on in the draft, but when it comes to this particular trade at this particular moment, fans just aren’t having it.

And talking about the draft pick opportunity the Patriots have, a fan commented, “I understand it’s out of respect, but this team is in no position to lose out on higher draft capital because a 6th-round rookie QB who has 1 game under his belt has an ego.” Echoing the same sentiment, another fan’s comment, “What the hell are we doing?” signifies how mad fans are at Vrabel and the front office. Some fans took it too far, categorizing the team as stupid. One fan couldn’t hold his rage and commented, “This team is incredibly stupid.” And if you see more comments under the above post, fans are not letting up on criticizing Vrabel and company.

Mike Vrabel and the Patriots might have never thought that the fans would react to Joe Milton’s trade like this. But what can the HC and front office do now? The arrow has left the bow. They will hope the 2025 NFL Draft brings them some relief.