Tennessee alum Joe Milton is headed into his second NFL season as a professional quarterback. Milton spent the 2024 season with the New England Patriots, but was traded to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason. He’ll open the 2025 season behind three-time Pro Bowler Dak Prescott, who is coming back from a season-ending hamstring injury.

Milton has often been heralded as one of the hardest-throwing quarterbacks in all of football. He went viral in 2022 when Tennessee‘s social media accounts posted a video of him throwing an orange 100-yards from end zone to end zone. This, along with his ability to run with the football, has earned him a solid backup role in the league.

He however refuted this notion on Wednesday, when he told Dallas Cowboys reporters that he thinks that he ‘doesn’t throw hard’. This is because, according to him, it just ‘comes off his hand like that.’ Yes. You read that correctly.

“I don’t understand why people say I throw the ball so hard. I’m literally not throwing the ball hard,” he said. “It just comes off my hand like that. I was born and blessed that way. If you think I’m throwing the ball hard, you shouldn’t be in the NFL.”

Milton has played the majority of snaps at the quarterback position for the Cowboys this preseason, where he’s led them to an 0-2 record with losses to the Los Angeles Rams and the Baltimore Ravens by an average of 14 points per game. He is 26/47 passing for 265 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said following the second preseason game via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “We didn’t get in a rhythm. … It wasn’t just Joe.”

Milton still has a couple more weeks of training camp to show improvement. One final preseason game remains as well, coming against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night. After sending draft capital over to the New England Patriots in exchange for Milton, there is some investment in the second-year player.

At the same time, the Cowboys do not plan on having Milton out there at any point. The hope is for Prescott to remain healthy throughout the entire season. If Milton is seeing the field, the game has already been decided.

However, Prescott’s recent injury history does make the position a relevant one. Milton’s inability to perform in the preseason is causing concern, at least from the outside.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.