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Mac Jones injury: Updates on Patriots QB’s status vs. Packers in Week 4 – SB Nation

The New England Patriots are off to a 1-2 start, and while they have answered some of the questions facing them this offseason, some questions still remain.

Perhaps the most pressing question is whether they will have starting quarterback Mac Jones available this Sunday when they travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.

Jones suffered a high ankle sprain on his final throw against the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday, in a game New England lost by a final score of 37-26. The quarterback was in visible pain, and was carried to the locker room after the injury.

X-rays of the ankle showed no fractures, and Jones was diagnosed with the high ankle sprain. Initial reports out of New England indicated that the sprain was “severe,” and that missing multiple games was on the table:

Jones met with the media earlier this week, and deflected any and all questions about his status for Sunday to his head coach:

Speaking of Bill Belichick, the coach also deflected questions about Jones’ injury, in the most Bill Belichick-way possible:

“Do you think I’m gonna read the MRI?”

Belichick also created some content fodder with the number of times he used the phrase “day-by-day:”

Jones did not participate in practice on Wednesday:

Nor was the quarterback spotted at the start of practice on Thursday:

When the Thursday injury report was released, Jones was given yet another “Did Not Participate” designation:

Still, the second-year passer is participating in game planning with an eye towards playing, and has told teammates not to “count him out:”

If Jones does end up playing on Sunday, he will do so a week after suffering a “severe” high ankle sprain, and after seeing minimal practice time.

Should Jones be unavailable for Sunday’s game against the Packers, New England will look to veteran backup Brian Hoyer to get the start. Hoyer’s last NFL start came back during the 2020 season against the Kansas City Chiefs, when he was pressed into action after Patriots starting quarterback Cam Newton tested positive late in the week. In a game that was moved due to multiple COVID tests, and saw the Patriots fly to Kansas City on the day of the game, Hoyer completed 15 of 24 passes for 130 yards and an interception.

Hoyer appeared in five games for New England last season in mop-up duty.

Source: https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2022/9/30/23378827/mac-jones-injury-high-ankle-sprain-new-england-patriots-tracker

Author: Mac