Key details come out on Patriots’ Joe Milton trade

Why did the Patriots trade quarterback Joe Milton, and why did they do it when they did it?

A pair of new reports indicate at least one reason Milton is now with the Dallas Cowboys, and explain the timing of the move. On the latter point, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported Sunday that it "wasn't a coincidence" that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made sure Milton was traded before the start of Patriots voluntary offseason workouts on Monday in Foxboro.

"Vrabel views that as a meaningful checkpoint in the process of establishing team culture and the dynamic that ideally unfolds within each position group," Reiss wrote. So, the heavy implication, here, is that Milton's presence at team workouts would disrupt Vrabel's efforts in the "team culture" department and have a negative effect on the "dynamic" with himself, incumbent starter Drake Maye, and veteran backup Joshua Dobbs.

Why would Milton be an issue in those respects? That brings us to a new report by Karen Guregian at MassLive. Per Guregian, Milton wanted a real opportunity to compete for the starting job, which he (probably rightly) believed wouldn't happen in New England.

"Based on intel gathered from sources during the week, Milton fancied himself a starter. He didn’t see himself being given a legitimate chance to compete with Drake Maye. … He also believed he was good enough to give Maye a run, if not overtake him for the top job. … If that chance didn’t exist, Milton preferred being elsewhere, somewhere he had a better chance to compete for the starter’s job."