Joe Milton

Joe Milton III (born March 6, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Tennessee Volunteers. Milton was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Early years
Milton attended Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida. He committed to the University of Michigan to play college football.

Michigan
Milton spent his first two years at Michigan (2018, 2019) as a backup to starter Shea Patterson. During those two years, he played in eight games, completing 6 of 11 passes for 117 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and also had two rushing touchdowns.

Milton competed with Dylan McCaffrey to be Michigan's starter in 2020. Milton was considered the favorite after McCaffrey decided to transfer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan's season was shortened to only six games. Milton started the first three games but steadily lost more playing time to Cade McNamara as the season progressed. Milton passed for 1,077 yards, four passing touchdowns, and four interceptions to go along with 38 carries for 109 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in Michigan's 2–4 season.

Tennessee
Milton transferred to Tennessee, where he was named the team's starter going into the 2021 season. During the Volunteers' second game of the season against Pittsburgh, Milton suffered an injury, and Hendon Hooker, a fellow transfer quarterback from Virginia Tech, replaced him in the lineup. He recorded a passing touchdown against #1 Georgia in relief in the 41–17 loss on November 13. Milton played in a relief role in six games the rest of the 2021 season.

In the 2022 season, Hooker was the primary starter for the 11–2 Volunteers. Milton played the backup role for most the season. He had productive outings in relief of Hooker with multiple games going over 100 yards passing and scoring at least one passing touchdown. On November 19, against South Carolina, Hooker sustained a season-ending ACL injury, making Milton the starter for the rest of the season. Milton made his first start of the season against Vanderbilt. He passed for 147 yards and a touchdown in the 56–0 victory. Tennessee qualified for the Orange Bowl against #7 Clemson. In the game, Milton passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the 31–14 victory to earn MVP honors.

Milton began the 2023 season as the Volunteers' starting quarterback. He threw for two passing touchdowns and ran for two rushing touchdowns in a 49–13 victory over Virginia. Following three total touchdowns in a 30–13 win over Austin Peay, Milton and the Vols had their first setback against Florida on September 16. To start Tennessee's 45–14 victory over UTSA in the following game, Milton had an 81-yard rushing touchdown on the Vols' first offensive drive. The play marked the longest rushing play by a quarterback in program history. Following conference victories over South Carolina and Texas A&M, Milton had 271 yards and two passing touchdowns in a loss to Alabama. After a 2–2 stretch, Milton passed for 383 yards and four touchdowns to go along with two rushing touchdowns in a 48–24 victory over Vanderbilt to end the regular season. The performance marked the most touchdowns accounted for by a Volunteer in a single game since 2009. Milton finished his final season with the Volunteers with a 8–4 record after deciding to opt out of the Volunteers' bowl game.

Professional career
Milton was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (193rd overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. The Patriots obtained the pick by trading quarterback Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Milton signed his rookie contract with the Patriots on May 10, 2024.