What needs to happen for Mac Jones to play vs. Browns, according to Bill Belichick
Jones has missed the last two games due to a high ankle sprain.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick shared a positive update on Mac Jones’ ankle injury on Friday, but wouldn’t say if the quarterback would play against the Browns.
“Mac, I think, is making good improvement, and we’ll see where he is today,” Belichick said. “Certainly, he [did] a lot more this Thursday than he did last Thursday and I imagine Friday, same thing. But we’ll see.”
Jones was later officially ruled as questionable on Friday for the game against the Browns. Jones has been limited in practice so far this week, but his mobility has noticeably improved compared to last week. After missing the last two games due to a high left ankle sprain, Jones was wearing a knee brace and an armband during Thursday’s practice, a sign that he’s ramping up his workload.
While Belichick’s comments and Jones’ improved look at practice this week are positive signs, there’s still a hurdle the quarterback has to clear.
“Saturday is an important day in this whole process,” Belichick said. “I know everybody wants a definite answer, but it’s just totally unrealistic to be able to do that. We don’t know how a player is going to feel after three days of practice, depending on what the volume is or the intensity is. That’s impossible to know that until you actually experience it, or he experiences it. So we’ll see.”
In the last two weeks, Jones was essentially ruled out by the Friday ahead of the game. He was ruled out entirely on the Friday before the Week 4 matchup against the Packers and in Week 5, he was listed as doubtful on the Friday before that game.
A pair of reports suggesting that Jones could play on Sunday emerged earlier in the week. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Jones has a “decent chance” to play while the NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reported that Jones would be dealing with some instability with his ankle if he plays, but it could be managed in a variety of ways. The swelling in Jones’s ankle has decreased, Giardi added.
If Jones can’t go on Sunday, Bailey Zappe will start. The fourth-round rookie made his first NFL start in the Week 5 win over the Lions, completing 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also led the Patriots on six scoring drives in their nine offensive possessions.
Zappe wouldn’t share on Wednesday if he was preparing to start in Sunday’s game or not.
“I’m preparing to do what my coaches tell me I’m supposed to be doing,” Zappe said. “Right now, that’s to take practice reps and doing everything I can to help the team.”
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