Joe Milton fires back at Patriots fans blaming him for losing first overall NFL draft pick

New England Patriots quarterback Joe Milton had a message for fans who are angry about not getting the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Milton recently went to Instagram Live to fire back at fans blaming him for leading the Patriots to a win this past weekend.

“I ain’t played football since preseason,” Milton said. “If y’all was in my shoes and y’all was given an opportunity to play, why would you go out there and not show up and show out? So y’all can talk about me if I lose?”

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Joe Milton III responds to angry #Patriots fans on IG Live who are mad about not getting the 1st overall pick:

"I ain't played football since preseason. If y'all was in my shoes and y'all was given an opportunity to play, why would you go out there and not show… pic.twitter.com/Ug11EdVERa

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 9, 2025

The Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-16 on Sunday to finish the season with a 4-13 record. Entering the week, the Patriots were on track to clinch the No. 1 overall pick, the win on Sunday and the Tennessee Titans losing to the Houston Texans led to the Titans getting the No. 1 pick since they have a 3-14 record. The Patriots will now pick at No. 4 overall.

Joe Milton is not looking ‘too far in the future’

Milton got to play in his first career game on Sunday and put on a show. The former Tennessee Volunteers star completed 22 of his 29 passes for 241 yards and two total touchdowns. Milton wanted to show everyone what he could do because it increases his chances to play more down the road.

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After the game, a reporter asked Milton what he would say to a Patriots fan who is disappointed about not getting the No. 1 pick. “I mean, we’ve got to handle how we handle our program as it is right now. We can’t think too far in the future, can’t think too far in the past. We’re just being exactly where our feet are right now, as a program, as an organization,” Milton said, per the Patriots’ official website. “We’re just being here right now in the moment. Thinking about a pick right now is way out of our hands. If they’re going to give it to us, if they do it, they do it; if they don’t, they don’t. Today the main focus was to win.”

The Patriots have finished 4-13 for the second consecutive season. Since 2000, the team has suffered just four losing seasons and missed the playoffs seven times during that span.