In what seems like a football miracle, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones shockingly returned to practice on Friday and seems on track to make the start in Week 4, despite suffering an injury that was expected to keep him sidelined for weeks.
In the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Jones incurred what was believed to be a high ankle sprain. An injury that can often keep players out of action for a month or more because it’s an ailment that is slow to heal. However, on Friday morning came a report from the Boston Herald that changed the narrative on the injury.
The outlet claimed that Jones’ status for the team’s Week 4 matchup on the road against the Green Bay Packers had switched from doubtful to a game-time decision. Sources informed them that the 2021 first-round picks ankle “continues to respond strongly to treatment.” While the news was a glimmer of hope that Jones could play on Sunday, the Boston Herald maintained that backup Brian Hoyer was still expected to be under center on Sunday afternoon.
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Well, the momentum towards the Patriots’ starting quarterback taking the field against the Packers picked up a whole bunch more steam when Patriots.com writer Evan Lazar reported soon after that Jones was actually back on the field for practice today. A stunning development that should put Jones on track to play in Week 4 after seeming destined to miss the team’s next few games at least.
Why Mac Jones returning to New England Patriots practice on Friday is shocking
Professional athletes returning from injuries quicker than expected is not an uncommon development. Nonetheless, a high ankle sprain is an injury that has always proven difficult to rapidly bounce back from for even the most elite of physical freaks.
- Mac Jones stats (2022): 786 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT, 76.2 rating
ClevelandClinic.org explains that the injury involves “turning inward or outward while your foot is flexed up” and includes possible damage to three different ligaments in that joint. “Any of these ligaments can be stretched, torn partially, or torn completely in a high ankle sprain.” Meaning it is a pretty serious injury and nothing on the level of rolling your ankle while playing a pick-up basketball game.
The site suggests that such an injury can take six to eight weeks to heal from, and could be even longer for a professional athlete, mattering on the sport. The fact that Jones is back on the practice field just five days after the injury is either proof that he is unlike few other athletes in the world, there is something different in the water at Gillette Stadium, or the Patriots’ medical staff badly misdiagnosed the injury in the early stages.
Either way, the Patriots’ chances of scoring an upset victory on Sunday increased exponentially today. The Patriots vs. Packers takes place at 4:25 PM ET on Fox this weekend.