The New England Patriots are not actively shopping Joe Milton, but they are not opposed to moving on from the second-year quarterback either. However, it is clear that they will only entertain the idea of trading him under the right set of circumstances.

One integral part of those is, unsurprisingly, the asking price. And according to a recent story by Toni Grossi of ESPN 850 Cleveland, it is significant: New England is looking for a third-round draft pick in a potential trade involving Milton, even though the team he is covering — the Browns — is seemingly not part of any serious discussion:

There is no evidence they are discussing it. One drawback would be the cost. Sources closer to the situation than me expect the asking price of the Patriots to be a third-round pick.

Getting a third-rounder for a player who has seen action in one NFL game may seem unrealistic, but that price tag is reflective of how highly the Patriots think of Milton. Team owner Robert Kraft even mentioned him during his press conference after the firing of head coach Jerod Mayo in January, saying that “we maybe have two quarterbacks.”

It remains to be seen whether that is indeed the case, but Milton did look good in his lone game action. Entering the Patriots’ season finale against the Buffalo Bills in the early fourth quarter, he was in full command and completed 22 of 29 pass attempts for 241 yards with a touchdown each as a thrower and a runner.

Milton’s performance that day has to be taken with a grain of salt considering the circumstances — Buffalo relied mostly on backups on defense — but it was nonetheless a concrete display of what the 2024 sixth-round draft pick can bring to an offense. Whether or not that will prompt a team to invest a third-round selection to bring him and his potential aboard remains to be seen.