FOXBOROUGH — Bill Belichick’s caginess about Mac Jones’ injury status might not have been as much gamesmanship as people initially assumed.
The Patriots’ second-year quarterback, who left last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens in considerable pain, was at the portion of practice viewable to the media Friday. It was his first time there this week. While that doesn’t make him certain or even likely to play Sunday at Green Bay against the Packers, it’s a step in the right direction. He didn’t participate in practice on either Wednesday or Thursday.
Jones lingered at the far end of the practice field with Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe, and threw a few passes during the media window. His injured ankle was taped and he did appear hobbled as he moved around minimally.
The quarterback reportedly had an X-Ray on Sunday and an MRI on Monday. While nothing has been confirmed. Multiple reports said he had a high ankle sprain, an injury that can sometimes sideline a player for multiple weeks. According to reports Thursday morning, Jones was participating in game-planning in hopes of still being available.
During his media availability, Belichick was asked about whether Jones could practice and he said simply, “We’ll see.”
He then added”
“We’ll just take it as it comes. Look, if you have an injury — you’ve had injuries — if you have an injury, you go out and do something. If you’re OK, then you do more. If you’re not OK, then you back off and you do a little less... it’s not a broken bone. It’s not a fracture that you’re dealing with. It’s a different type of injury. We’re all different. Each injury is a little bit different. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I’ve got a magic wand and crystal ball and I know exactly what’s going to happen. Nobody knows. I don’t know. He doesn’t know. Doctors don’t know. Take it as it comes and see what happens.”
The official injury report comes out later on Friday afternoon. Jones has started all 21 games of his Patriots career thus far. If Jones doesn’t play Hoyer would start in his place and Zappe would dress for the first time in his career.
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